Flights Grounded At Manchester Airport As Deep Freeze Hits Britain To Last All Week

Britain faces 'very significant snowfall' this week with temperatures expected to fall to -11C (12F) as the Met Office extended weather warnings today amid school closures and travel chaos that shut a major airport.

Moisture blown in from a storm in France teamed with Arctic winds from the North has led to flurries and sub-zero conditions, with Transport for London activating their cold weather strategy and running de-icing trains overnight.

Manchester Airport was closed this morning as workers desperately tried to clear the runway of snow, with passengers complaining of 'mayhem' as people were stuck on planes and flights redirected to other airports.


A further weather system forecast to arrive tomorrow could break this winter's current record low of -10.8C (12.6F) set on January 18 in Aberdeenshire, and bring up to 4in (10cm) of snow even to parts of southern England.

Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice covered most of the UK today, after the lowest temperature recorded overnight was -6.8C (20F) at Aonach Mor in the Highlands, followed by -6C (21F) at Topcliffe in North Yorkshire.

Snow fell overnight in London, but forecasters said the 'messy' nature of the weather front, which was a mixture of snow, sleet and rain, meant the problems it caused were 'patchy' and not as widespread as feared.