A hideous -12C freeze has forced the Met Office and the government to place all of England under an amber weather alert for the next four days.
A brutal Arctic blast from Norway is behind the drop in temperatures which will bring snow to scores towns and cities in the next three days. A deluge is set to move in tonight with sporadic snow showers clipping the eastern coast of England until at least Wednesday.
Despite the risk of it causing power cuts and delays on the roads and to public transport, there is also a very severe concern over the impacts it could have to those over the age of 65.
It says: “Severe impacts are possible across the health and social care sector due to forecast weather conditions, including: increased risk of mortality across the whole population with significant mortality observed in older age groups.
“Significant increased demand on all health and social care services; impact on delivery of services due to poor weather conditions and staff access.” It also urges people to maintain indoor temperatures at recommended 18C, which “may become challenging for some.”
They say there will be an increased risk of vulnerable people with “national critical infrastructure failures”, including – generators, power outages and gas supply issues.
The alerts came into effect from midday for North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East of England, London, South East and South West. It will expire on Friday at noon.
They are issued by the Met Office and government body the UK Health Security Agency which monitors the impact both hot and cold weather can have on the nation, and vulnerable members of society.
Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, said: “The temperatures we will see can rapidly have a serious impact on the health of those over the age of 65 and those with pre-existing health conditions as it increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections.
“It is therefore vital to check in on friends, family and neighbours to ensure they are well prepared for the cold weather this week.”
On Tuesday, a frontal system will move east to bring areas of rain, sleet and snow to parts of northern England, the warning added.
But the exact track of this feature is still up for debate, and snow to low levels is “possible”. ” As a result, some areas not wholly included in current snow warnings could be affected with little notice.
The alert adds: “Further wintry showers feeding into parts of the north west England south west, England and through the Cheshire gap into parts of the West Midlands as wins back to a north Westerley direction. Accumulations of a few centimetres are possible in places mostly over higher ground but not exclusively on Wednesday.
“Further snow showers will feed inland and brisk northerly winds, especially across eastern coastal districts of England.” Currently, it says there is a “low chance” of disruptive snow hitting the far south of England overnight tomorrow.
But there is still a “lot of uncertainty at this stage”, it concluded.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page, said: “Where and how much snow we will get will vary throughout the week and weather warnings could change quickly, you will need to keep an eye on the forecast for your region for the latest information.
“There will be widespread frost this week and we could see some fairly deep laying snow in parts of northern UK and strong winds could result in drifting or blizzard conditions at times. The snow and ice will be disruptive and could potentially impact travel plans, make driving dangerous and pavements slippery.
“It will feel bitterly cold with daytime temperatures in the low single figures for many, and overnight temperatures will fall to -3 or -4 in many towns and cities, and it will be even colder in many rural areas.”
