UK weather: ‘Coldest night’ forecast as thousands remain without power after Storm Irwin

[ad_1]

Forecasters warned of “the coldest night of the season” in parts of the UK, with temperatures dropping to -10 degrees Celsius, as Storm Irwin left tens of thousands of homes without power and brought widespread snow.

Three people were killed when strong winds swept away trees, causing damage and disrupting transport.

Northern Powergrid, which supplies power to the North East, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, said 240,000 consumers had lost service but on Sunday supply was back to 200,000.

Northwest Electricity, which supplies power to the area between the Scottish border and Stockport, said 67,000 of the 83,000 customers who lost electricity have seen their supplies restored.

Heavy snowfall has disrupted trucks and plows in a number of areas, as pub crew and a tribute band have been stranded since Friday at Tan Hill Inn in the Yorkshire Dales as a result of heavy snowfall.

A Lancaster man died after a tree fell on him in Ambleside, Cumbria, while another Aberdeenshire man died after a tree fell and hit his car around 6pm on Friday.

The third man, Frances Lagan, of Antrim in Northern Ireland, died the same way on Friday. A homage is being paid to the ‘famous educational educator and civic leader’, who was killed when a tree crashed into his car while traveling along Dublin Road in County Antrim with his wife and two of their children.

The community in South Derry was said to be “stunned” by the sudden loss of Mr Lagan, who was the principal of St Mary’s Primary School in Magira.

The Met Office said it expects to see the mercury dip below zero in many parts of the country, including in cities like London, where it could be -2C in the late hours of Sunday.

It also issued two yellow ice warnings – one across eastern parts of Scotland, and the other extending from northeastern England to the southern coast from Sunday afternoon.

The warnings, which are set to run through Monday morning, say people should expect to see “ice patches” on roads and sidewalks, meaning accidents, slips and falls are “more likely”.

[ad_2]