Big chill grips Britain once more: Maps reveal chilly climate and 200 flood alerts as temperatures plunge to -11C amid fog warning after two storms in below per week
A big chill returned to Britain today as temperatures fell to -11C (12F) and settled conditions took hold following two named storms in under a week.
Much of the UK woke up to frosty weather and a Met Office fog warning for parts of western and southern England with visibility under 300ft (100m) until 11am.
Conditions are now returning to a ‘typical end of November’ amid a split over the coming days with brighter and drier skies in the East but more cloud in the West.
Breezier weather is expected this weekend with rain in northern and western areas, but milder temperatures are also on the way with a forecast of 14C (57F) in London.
It comes after days of stormy weather which saw the second and third named storms of the season – with 66 flood warnings and 144 alerts still active in England today.
Storm Conall brought torrential downpours yesterday after Storm Bert caused major flooding last weekend with heavy snow, seven inches of rain and 82mph winds.
Rail services in southern England were badly disrupted yesterday by flooding associated with Conall, but this storm has since moved onto the Netherlands.
It comes after a chilly spell last week that saw snow in London and the coldest UK temperature so early in the season since 1998 with -11C (12F) on November 19.
Dog walkers out on a frosty morning in the Oxfordshire countryside at Dunsden today
Rowers train at sunrise today on the River Cam in Cambridge on a very chilly morning
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: ‘Conall pulled away early lunchtime (yesterday), and is now rapidly deepening – there’s quite an intense storm as it pushes into the Netherlands.
Pet shop is deluged by worst flooding owner has seen in 18 years
A pet shop owner said flooding from Storm Bert was the worst she had seen in nearly two decades of living in Wiltshire.
Pawesome Pet Shop in Chippenham, owned by Becky Lyons, flooded in the early hours of Monday – damaging equipment and stock.
Major flooding deluged Pawesome Pet Shop in Chippenham, Wiltshire, on Monday
The 39-year-old said the water rose up to two feet and meant she was unable to get inside her shop until 2pm, when the water had come down to one foot.
She said: ‘There was mud and silt everywhere. The water was just high enough to catch everything on our bottom shelves and our freezer full of raw food.’
Ms Lyons, who has lived in the region for 18 years, said the flooding from Storm Bert was the worst she has seen so far.
‘The flooding has never got that bad,’ she said. ‘It was a perfect storm.’
Flooding outside the shop in Chippenham
Staff from the neighbouring Pasty Cove in Chippenham helped clean out the damage and also set up a GoFundMe page to help Ms Lyons absorb the financial loss from the destroyed stock and equipment, raising £280 out of a £3,000 target.
Thanks to this, the pet shop was able to reopen for business yesterday. ‘The community support has been amazing – I think that needs shouting out’, she said.
‘That’s all clearing now UK-wise, and allowing high pressure to build in from the north at the moment, so it’s getting drier, quite clear as well.’
Clear skies meant temperatures dropped to -2C (28F) in London and Preston by 8am this morning and -4C (25F) in Glasgow, with an overnight low of -11C (12F) at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.
However, St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly was 12C (54F) this morning – giving a 23C (42F) difference in temperature across the UK.
The very cold weather in parts of the country brought some icy stretches, freezing fog patches, and a widespread frost – ahead of a generally bright and cold day today.
Clouds are expected to gather in the west and bring a risk of rain in far-western parts of the country, with temperatures around 9C (48F) to 10C 950F).
But further east will be dry with sunny spells and temperatures will reach around 6C (43F) to 7C (45F).
Mr Dewhurst added that the lightening winds will allow fog patches to form – then tomorrow will have a similar east-west split.
Cloud and rain will continue in the West and North, slow spreading slowly eastwards – while the South East will remain dry with some hazy sunshine.
Breezier weather is forecast for the weekend and temperatures will be milder, with outbreaks of rain largely contained in the northern and western parts of the UK.
Some showery rain might then reach south-eastern areas by Sunday. Temperatures will then begin to fall again come Monday with sunny spells.
Mr Dewhurst said: ‘Overall, it looks this weather pattern will continue with weather fronts coming in from the Atlantic, but largely affecting the north and the west – occasional spells of rain in the south-east, but temperatures near average really.’
Low pressure systems are then expected to resume moving in from the Atlantic from Wednesday, with the Met Office saying they could ‘track across northern and western parts of the UK, perhaps resulting in more wet and windy weather here’.
Looking further ahead towards mid-December, the Met Office said there were ‘signs that the weather will become less settled again, with west or north-westerly types preferred.’
Its forecast added: ‘These will bring some wetter and windier spells with a risk of some snow, especially across northern hills.
‘These conditions may prevail into late December, although drier, more settled spells may also affect the UK at times, again these probably more likely towards the south.
‘Temperatures generally close to average through the period, or slightly above in areas which are wet and windy.’
Yesterday, homeowners and businesses said they ‘have lost everything’ as flash floods and strong winds wreaked havoc during Storm Bert.
Some residents and business owners have had to appeal to the public for help amid fears they will not be able to clear the devastation by Christmas.
Lynn Bridgeman, who lives in a caravan park in Taunton, Somerset, said she went through an ‘absolutely terrifying experience’ in the early hours of Sunday when strong winds caused her awning to collapse.
The Environment Agency has 66 flood warnings (in red) and 144 alerts (in amber) in England
A Met Office fog warning for parts of western and southern England imposed until 11am today
She said: ‘At three o’clock in the morning, my caravan went up on one wheel and that was the most horrifying thing I have ever experienced. I thought the caravan was going to topple over. I literally screamed.
‘When I got up in the morning, I couldn’t get out of the caravan because the awning had come down and the pole got pushed into the door.’
Ms Bridgeman, who kept her clothes, food, and electrics in the awning, said her neighbours had to cut out what was left of the canopy to get her out of the caravan.
The 53-year-old mother of three, who had already lost her home 18 months prior after deteriorating health prevented her from working, set up a GoFundMe page hoping to raise enough money to replace her lost possessions – and assist other residents of the park who have been affected by the storm. So far, £305 has been raised out of a £12,000 target.
‘I have lost everything,’ Ms Bridgeman said. ‘I had everything in that awning, from my food to my clothes to my electrics. We had been preparing for the winter and it’s all gone, and all the money that we put into it.
‘I just absolutely feel destroyed. Every time I open up my caravan door at the moment, I burst into tears. Losing things that you have worked for is very hard. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, to have to stand there and just rebuild again.’
The sun rises as donkeys are seen in a frozen field at Dunsden in Oxfordshire this morning
People run along the banks of the River Cam in Cambridge on a very cold morning today
Rowers train at sunrise today on the River Cam in Cambridge on a very chilly morning
A cyclist on the banks of the River Cam in Cambridge after sunrise this morning
She added: ‘Luckily, we are all family here in this site. This is why I did this GoFundMe – so hopefully I can not only help myself, but them too.’
Near Shaftesbury in Dorset, Charlotte Reynolds’ sheep sanctuary, home to 54 rescued animals, also suffered losses to Storm Bert as strong winds blew away the largest shelter and dampened £400 worth of hay bales meant for feeding the sheep.
Ms Reynolds, who founded The Smallest Flock Sheep Sanctuary in 1977, said the situation has been ‘stressful’.
‘To me, the sheep are a family – my three sons have grown up with them and I want them to be safe and dry and well,’ she said.
A fundraiser set up to fix the damage at Ms Reynold’s sanctuary already raised over £1,600 out of a £1,750 target.
‘I feel relieved,’ Ms Reynolds said. ‘Obviously as a non-profit, we fundraise to stay afloat and we can’t get what we need unless we have enough money. As soon as we have enough, we shall purchase a new shelter.’
Sir Keir Starmer told Parliament yesterday that MPs in communities affected by flooding after Storm Bert will receive ‘whatever they need’.
