Snow again as 'mini Beast from the East' set to hit Shropshire

A yellow warning for ice and snow has been issued by the Met Office from midnight on Friday to midnight on Sunday.

On Saturday a band of rain will turn more widely to snow early in the morning followed by scattered snow showers through the remainder of the day.

Snowfall of 1-3 cm is expected quite widely. On higher ground above 200 metres, 5-10 cm is possible. Strong easterly winds will lead to snow drifts.

The Met Office said: "These showers may become more prolonged, particularly during the evening. Any melting of lying snow will lead to an ice risk on untreated surfaces on Saturday morning and night.

"Travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel is possible. Some rural communities could become cut off and power cuts may occur."

Snow showers are likely to continue throughout Sunday, says the Met Office.

Wistanstow Bike Show cancelled

An annual bike show, due to take place in south Shropshire on Sunday, has been cancelled due to the weather.

Heavy rain and the threat of snow has led the organisers of the Wistanstow Bike Show to take the decision to call the event off.

Hundreds of bike fans were due to descend on Wistanstow Village Hall for the event which is now in its 27th year.

Showgoers normally park on nearby fields but these have become waterlogged in recent days leading to concerns that cars could become stranded.

The show was being held in memory of founder Ron Maund who set it up as an annual fundraiser for the village school.

A spokesman for the show said: "This has been a very hard decision to take, not least because of all the effort that has gone into organising the Show over the past six months, but also because of the huge hole it will leave in the PTA budget for our kids for the coming year."

Return to wintry conditions

Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said: “The best way to describe this is as a real return to wintry conditions.

“Bitterly cold is the best way to describe it – temperatures on the face of it probably just around freezing but with wind it’s going to feel well below freezing.”

Meteorologist Martin Bowles said the weekend’s weather could be dubbed a “mini beast from the east”.

He said: “We don’t expect anything like the same impact as a result of it, although there will be some snow about.”

The snow warning for Sunday shows vast swathes of the south, central and east of England covered by the yellow advisory.

How to deal with frozen water pipes

The Beast is back – and that means another potential big freeze disaster for Severn Trent.

The water company responsible for Shropshire today offered advice for dealing with frozen pipes.

It comes after customers in its region lost water during the last cold snap.

The problem was caused by a 4,000 per cent rise in burst pipes across the region. At one point both Cadbury and JLR stopped production in factories in an effort to conserve water.

Temperatures that were rising to a top temperature of 11C (53F) today were dropping to barely above freezing tomorrow, thanks to a return of cold air from the east.

Steve Witter, head of leakage at Severn Trent, said: "When we have freezing weather we usually see a huge increase in the number of calls we get from customers about frozen pipes.

"Usually when people find that the water is off in their home, they quite rightly give us a call, however most of these calls turn out to be the customer’s pipework being frozen. As we’re not responsible for the pipework inside homes, we can only issue advice on what to do.

Anything inside the property boundary is the responsibility of the homeowner

"Colder weather can wreak havoc on household water pipes. When water freezes within a pipe it expands, putting more pressure on the pipes and joints, often causing pipes to split or joints to pull apart.

"There’s still time for people to get their home ready for the cold and it’s such an easy and inexpensive job. Many of our customers may not realise that Severn Trent is only responsible for the water mains and service pipes in the public highway. Anything inside the property boundary is the responsibility of the homeowner.

"We want our customers to avoid what could be a lot of heartache and expense if their home is affected by burst pipes. It’s also really important that you make sure you check any empty or unused properties and spaces for leaks as there may be pipes there that have burst and be leaking huge amounts of water without anyone noticing, and that’s going to cause a lot of damage.

"Taking steps now to make sure the pipework leading to your home and within your property is protected can help avoid problems with frozen pipes when the temperatures drop this weekend. I have a few top tips to help our customers make sure they’re well prepared for the cold weather ahead.”