A drop in the temperature on Sunday night has brought a Monday morning of fog, ice and snow which has caused major travel disruptions for commuters.
The Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert has said on the official Met Office website that cold weather conditions will remain during this week.
He said: “In many places daytime temperatures will struggle to get above freezing, while overnight temperatures have the potential to drop below -10 C in rural parts of Scotland.”
“While the freezing conditions remain drivers especially are reminded that freezing fog, snow and other wintry hazards will continue to create difficult conditions in places this week.”
Transport for London informed commuters on their website that there would be minor to severe delays on major train lines like Bakerloo, Jubilee, and Hammersmith.
Tina Langford, a retail assistant coming into Harrow from Brixton station said: “The underground tubes were packed with people. I guess no one wanted to miss the train because there was no certainty when the next one would be coming. And there were announcements during the commute that some lines had been part suspended too.”
Dillon, a student at University of Westminster, also experienced some disruption to his journey, he said: “Last night I knew it would be quite difficult getting around this morning. I couldn’t get a train from jubilee line because it was closed up, so I had to get the metropolitan instead to continue my journey.”
For Chante, a student at University of Westminster her concern was how slippery the ground is because of the ice, “walking is tricky today so I have had to walk really slowly everywhere.”
Chante also wondered why classes at university were not cancelled today, she said: “I really want to know why school wasn’t cancelled today with this weather.”
Indeed, the weather has also affected children as primary and secondary schools across the UK have closed.
The Telegraph reports that 40 schools have closed in East Sussex due to the severe weather. And some schools have closed in London as well.
The closure of primary and secondary schools comes after the news of six children who fell through a frozen Solihull lake.
A number of flights have also been cancelled or delayed. Gatwick airport announced on its official twitter account today that freezing weather has caused cancellations and delays for the rest of the day.
Luton airport also used their twitter account to advise travellers to check with their airlines before setting out.
These Disruptions to travel plans and commutes are expected to continue for the rest of the week, which is how long the weather blitz is expected to last.
