Friday 23 February 2018

Wintery weather to return

It’s looking like a cold weekend ahead, with the chance of snow early next week.  Our fleet of gritters will be out and about helping keep the roads free of ice (and snow). 
You can see the daily gritting decision by following us on Twitter (@TfBAlerts) or by checking our winter page, where you can also track the gritters on an interactive map.

Here is a quick update from the Met Office ahead of the very cold weather and snow potential for the coming week. 
Headline:
Increasingly cold conditions will develop over the weekend with an increased potential to see snow showers which could lead to disruption to transport, icy conditions and the potential for power outages.
Warnings Issued:
No warnings have been issued for the Thames Valley, but this will be kept under review.
Next 48-72 hours:
The high pressure that was forecast to develop across northern parts of Europe has now become established and the easterly wind has developed bringing cold air off the continent.  There will be a good deal of fine, dry weather today (Friday) and over the weekend with good sunny spells at times.  By Sunday daytime temperatures will rise to only just above freezing and overnight temperatures will be well below leading to severe frosts.  The low temperatures and fairly brisk easterly wind will lead to a significant wind chill, making it feel well below freezing. 
Monday / Tuesday:
Bitterly cold air will have arrived across Southeast England by Monday and, along with this, an increasing risk of seeing snow showers. Daytime temperatures will struggle to rise above freezing with severe frosts continuing overnight. 
In this weather set up it tends to be the eastern coastal counties that see the brunt of the frequent heavy snow showers and warnings have been issued for these areas.  However, the latest forecast suggests that the Thames Valley area, could see snow showers from the second half of Monday and through Tuesday although they will be less frequent and organised than locations further east.  Some places could see accumulations of 1-2 cm but no warning has currently been issued but this will be kept under review over the weekend.
If warnings are required over the weekend they can be found on the Met Office App or the Met Office website at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings.
Further Ahead:
The very cold conditions and risk of heavy snow showers continues through the rest of next week. Temperatures will remain below freezing on some days with severe frosts overnight.