More snow storms expected in UK

Feb 4 2009

More snow storms will hit Britain in the next 24 hours, forecasters have warned.

A second wave of transport chaos and school closures is expected, with up to eight inches (20cm) of fresh snow predicted in parts of the UK.

The thickest snowfall is expected in Gloucestershire, the Midlands and Wales - where hundreds of schools have remained shut since Monday.

The Highways Agency also warned of treacherous travelling conditions as local authorities vented fears over shortages of grit for roads.

Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of the Local Government Association Environment Board, said he feared salt supplies were "drying up" due to rationing.

Paul Knightley, assistant forecast manager at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said the snow could continue until the weekend.

He said: "An area of more persistent and heavier sleet and snow will push northwards. This will then bring moderate to heavy snowfall for the rest of the night for much of south and mid-Wales, the Bristol area, much of the Midlands, and into parts of central southern England."

Parts of central Wales could have up to eight inches in total by tomorrow before scattered snow showers over the weekend, he said.

Perilous conditions which brought transport networks to a standstill and stopped millions of people getting to work were easing in London and the South East.

But a spokesman for the AA said: "A critical area will be patches of the M4, where there will either be a lot of rain or snow. The general outlook is on a knife-edge and we are on standby."