Crazy Winter Weather in the UK

M6 on Friday night

M6 in dark blue

 
Heavy snow Friday and Saturday paralyzed travel in western and northern England and Scotland. Motorists were stranded from 8 to 10 hours on M6, the longest and busiest highway in the UK.Stranded motorists entertained themselves building snowmen in the road, walking their dogs, and having snowball fights. Many cars were abandoned on the highway as well. In addition to closing numerous highways, the heavy snow caused a roof collapse, closed airport runways, and delayed rail travel.  Six inches of snow fell in many areas, with up to a foot reported. The Daily Mirror reported that a foot of snow fell in an hour, which is a rate not even seen in lake effect events. It is unlikely this rate occurred and other sources did not confirm this.


Now that the snow has ended, warmer temperatures and heavy rain are causing flooding problems in these same areas.Flooding is particularly serious in Wales, and rain is expected through Sunday morning.

The warning map for Sunday issued by the UK Met Office.