Snow for the UK, but severe gales for France

Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England saw heavy wintry showers, which brought a covering of snow in places.

In Glasgow, there was 7cm; Belfast saw 4cm and a few centimetres came down across some parts of the Pennines. Ice was also a problem as temperatures fell below freezing.

Further south across England and Wales, an area of low pressure moved eastwards. It initially brought a spell of heavy rain, but as colder air became mixed in, the rain turned to snow.

Snow mainly settled across the hills of Wales, the Midlands and southern England, with a few centimetres. However, for many places snow was just falling, giving poor visibility.

Severe gales hit France

The low pressure that brought the UK heavy rain and snow has also delivered stormy weather across France. Severe gales have been reported with gusts in excess of 80mph.

French Interior Minister Claude Gueant said that dozens of people were evacuated from flood-prone zones on the Atlantic coasts, as well as 400,000 homes being left without power.

The stormy weather and rough seas also caused a cargo ship to run aground off the Brittany coast, where it sprang a fuel leak. The crew were rescued by helicopter.

A few days ago, it looked like this same low pressure system was going to track further northwards across the UK. If it had, the severe gales that hit France would have affected England and Wales as well.

What does the weekend have in store?

Through the weekend it’ll feel cold for all parts of the UK, especially in the northwesterly wind.

There’ll be sunshine and wintry showers by day, with a widespread frost by night. Ice will be an added concern, particularly on untreated roads and pavements.

Into next week the weather will turn somewhat milder as the wind changes to a westerly direction, brining cloud and rain from the Atlantic Ocean.

Image courtesy of David Webster via Twitter.