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.
