Britain shivers as snow moves in

London Evening Standard/London

People skate on the frozen fens in Welney, south east England. Heavy snow is forecast for many parts of Britain over the weekend and Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for numerous areas of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, local media report

Britain shivered through the coldest night of the winter so far as temperatures plunged lower than minus 12C and the country braced itself for up to 15cm of snow.Parts of the UK were placed on amber alert, the Met Office’s second highest severe weather warning, as flights were cancelled and a string of sporting fixtures fell victim to the big chill.On the roads, motorists faced a “dangerous cocktail of driving conditions” while forecasters warned the freezing weather was set to stay.The cold snap has already seen daytime temperatures plummet four or five degrees lower than average for February - traditionally the chilliest month of the year.The mercury dropped to minus 12.4C in South Newington, Oxfordshire - the lowest recorded temperature this season, the Met Office said.Most parts of the country are expected to wake up to a blanket of snow on Sunday morning, with up to 15cm forecast in some places, including London’s Heathrow Airport, where a third of flights will be grounded amid adverse weather conditions and the possibility of freezing fog.Met Office forecaster Michael Lawrence said: “We have got a band of rain, sleet and snow pushing in from western parts.“This is running over colder air and that’s going to give some fairly significant snowfall, mainly in eastern and central parts of Britain and - to some extent - large parts of the UK.”While some regions - including Cumbria, Lincolnshire, East Anglia, North Yorkshire, the Peak District and the Midlands - are expected to see a 15cm dumping of snow, many regions will get between 5cm and 10cm. Wales and the South West, along with parts of western Scotland, will mostly see rain.The amber alert in England applies to Yorkshire and Humber, the West Midlands, East Midlands, the East, the South West, London, the South East and the North West.Reuters adds: London’s Heathrow Airport said it would operate a much reduced service on Sunday with snow and freezing temperatures predicted to hit much of England over the weekend.Heavy snow is forecast overnight across central and southern England, with a possibility of up to 15 cm (6 inches) could fall in the London area. Temperatures were also not expected to climb above -2 Celsius, leading to icy conditions.As a result, just 70% of normal services will operate from London’s Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, operator BAA said in a statement yesterday afternoon.“A further revised schedule with additional cancellations may be made on a rolling basis,” BAA said. “We expect the percentage of passengers who are able to fly to be higher than 70% as airlines will transfer people between flights.”“This decision ensures that the greatest number of passengers can fly with the minimum amount of disruption”, said Heathrow Chief Operating Officer Normand Boivin.“It also means that those passengers whose flights are cancelled will know in advance, and can make alternative arrangements or rebook in relative comfort.”London’s Gatwick Airport said there was no change to its schedule yet but warned passengers to check with airlines and the airport.There was also a warning of potential disruption to services at London’s Stansted airport but a spokeswoman said there were no planned cancellations at the moment.