Snow update: Shropshire on flood alert as thaw sets in
Flood alerts were today issued for Shropshire as police and motoring organisations warned motorists to take extra care as snow starts to melt on the region's roads.
Flood Alerts have been issued for the Severn Vyrnwy confluence, the Severn in Shropshire and the Tern and Perry Catchments.
Dave Throup from the Environment Agency said melting snow combined with heavy rainfall was raising river levels. He said no significant impacts were expected but low lying land and rural roads could be affected
It came as pupils today returned to their desks at most schools in Shropshire and Mid Wales after the region emerged from the big freeze.
Fifteen schools were closed in Shropshire and 21 in Powys and as the thaw begins forecasters say temperatures will rise as high at 5C (41F) today and while frosts will continue at night it will be increasingly mild during the day.
Use the following links to see which schools will be closed on Thursday:
In Wellington, Dothill Primary School will be closed today and tomorrow after a water main burst on the site.
The closure includes the preschool and the Tick Tocks group. All water to the site has had to be turned off while it is being fixed but the school was still going ahead with the EYFS/Key Stage 1 panto visit.
The train line between Craven Arms and Llanelli was expected to be shut all day as crews cleared fallen trees and branches. National Rail Enquiries says buses will replace trains on the line until at least 5am on Thursday.
Today the Met Office issued a new Yellow Warning of ice from 4pm today until 11am on Thursday.
It said ice would again form on some surfaces from late Wednesday afternoon, which will continue through the night and well into Thursday morning. In addition, wintry showers will spread from the west with some accumulations of snow, though mostly restricted to high ground.
There will probably be icy stretches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, with some slippery surfaces likely.
On Monday night at -13C, or just 9F, our county was colder than the Scottish Highlands. The temperature was recorded at a weather station at RAF Shawbury and the mercury dipped to similar lows across Shropshire.
But the mercury only fell to around minus 1.9C (29F) at its lowest on Tuesday evening, again near the English-Welsh border.
Craig Snell, a forecaster at the Met Office said: “It’s still a cold start in places, especially in the Midlands and into Wales.
“On the ground, temperatures have reached near freezing so there is scope for ice patches, with the exception across the far south of England where temperatures are hovering around 8C (46F) or 9C (48F).
“Wednesday is going to be a mixed bag. There will be some bright spells around the country and we will be seeing bands of showers move across the country and it will be quite windy, especially across the South West of the UK.”
Mr Snell added that wintry showers were possible across the North West of England and further afield in the afternoon – with a cooler night expected going into Thursday.
“On the ground, temperatures have reached near freezing so there is scope for ice patches, with the exception across the far south of England where temperatures are hovering around 8C (46F) or 9C (48F).
“Wednesday is going to be a mixed bag. There will be some bright spells around the country and we will be seeing bands of showers move across the country and it will be quite windy, especially across the South West of the UK.”
Mr Snell added that wintry showers were possible across the North West of England and further afield in the afternoon – with a cooler night expected going into Thursday.
“It’s a bit of a rollercoaster on the temperatures over the next four or five days," he said.
“We’re not likely to see the -13C of the other night but we could see temperatures potentially at -7C (19F) in a few spots, but generally remaining cold but not as cold as we started the week.”
Air and rail services – which were disrupted earlier this week by the weather – appear to be returning back to normal, with the Eurotunnel running on time and flights operating as normal out of Heathrow.
