The capital has dodged a yellow rain warning for Monday but heavy downpours are forecast
London has narrowly dodged a yellow rain warning for Monday despite heavy downpours forecast, while thousands suffered power cuts in Cumbria on Sunday after snowfall overnight.
The Met Office has issued a heavy rain warning from midnight on Sunday to 6pm on Monday for parts of southern England, South Wales and the southwest Midlands.
Areas affected include Brighton, Hampshire, Surrey and Oxfordshire.
In its warning, the weather service said the heavy rain is “likely to cause some disruption to travel” and that the flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible.
The Met Office said it expects 20mm-30mm (0.8in-1.2in) of rain to fall widely, with a few places seeing as much as 60mm (2.4in).
Although there is no warning in the capital, heavy rain is expected in the city overnight and throughout Monday.
After sub-zero temperatures over the weekend, it will feel slightly warmer with a high of 7C on Monday and 6C on Tuesday in London, the Met Office said. Rain is forecast to clear by Tuesday.
Frosty and icy conditions on Saturday evening forced flights to cancel or be delayed at London Stansted Airport.
On Sunday morning more than 2,500 people in Cumbria were without electricity, as the county’s fire and rescue service said it worked through the night to rescue drivers from cars trapped in deep snow.
Power cuts followed Saturday’s heavy snow in Cumbria, with the Met Office issuing new weather warnings across the UK on Sunday morning.
The Met Office said last night that the UK experienced the coldest temperatures since last winter, with -12.5C recorded in Altnaharra in the Highland region of northern Scotland.
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Meteorologist Tom Morgan said unofficial reports indicated there was “comfortably in excess of 20cm, probably in excess of 30cm, of snow across the Windermere and Coniston area of the South Lakes and also down towards Ambleside and the far south of Cumbria”.
He told PA: “It was quite an unusual situation that led to it because it became slow moving and gave the same areas of south Cumbria hour after hour of heavy snow and that’s what led to the significant disruption there.”
The Met Office meteorologist said the weather on Sunday had “turned a bit milder in the south”, but added it was “still cold further north across the UK and there’s going to be some further wintry showers and ice as we go through tonight”.
“It is turning milder later this week so there is an end in sight to the wintry weather,” he added.
Electricity North West’s list of live power cuts showed that 2,508 customers were affected across Cumbria at 10am, including 256 in Lowick, South Lakeland.
In most cases, the electricity operator estimated that power would be restored at 10pm on Sunday.
In a post on social media, Electricity North West said: “Access is difficult and our teams are using 4x4s to try to reach sections of the damaged network.”
Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service (CFRS) said a multi-agency response was ongoing after Cumbria Police declared a major incident in the county on Saturday in response to heavy snowfall on roads.
In a post on social media on Sunday morning, it said: “CFRS have been working through the night rescuing people from their cars trapped in deep snow.
“Please do not travel unless necessary as many roads are still affected with snow and ice.”
Cumbria Police also urged people not to travel to the county on Sunday unless necessary, adding that some highway teams had been “verbally abused” as they attempted to deal with the situation.
Superintendent Andy Wilkinson said on Saturday night that the snow had “ended up being much more significant than forecast”.
Mr Wilkinson added: “We are aware of a number of incidents in which highway teams and those assisting in the efforts to support those affected by the snow have been verbally abused.
“We understand people’s frustration during this time; however, agencies are working hard to improve the situation in Cumbria and are also facing the challenging road conditions when responding.”
A number of local community venues were opened to provide support to those affected by the heavy snowfall, including Ambleside Parish Centre, Braithwaite Hall and Esthwaite Primary School.
Kendal resident Hannah Smith said she had never seen such heavy snow in Ambleside and Grasmere.
It took Ms Smith nine hours to return home to Kendal from Grasmere on Saturday night – a journey which usually takes under 30 minutes by car in normal weather conditions.
She said she decided to abandon her car and walk to the nearest train station in Windermere after waiting in traffic with two eight-year-old children for four-and-a-half hours on Saturday night.
