Snow closes Manchester airport runways as weather warnings cover the UK
Heavy snowfall has ground the country to a halt this morning as commuters are urged to brace for snow showers, ice and rain.
Manchester and Bristol airports closed their runways for several hours due to heavy snow, while there were stranded vehicles and collisions hace blocked key roads across northern England.
A number of schools throughout the north of England, primarily in Yorkshire, are also closed today with mor expected to follow.
The north and west of Scotland are covered by a yellow warning for snow and ice until 11am, with another for snow and ice in central and eastern parts of the country in place until midday.
A further yellow snow warning covering part of the Scottish Lowlands including Edinburgh is in place until midday.
Two weather warnings are in place at Manchester Airport – one for heavy rain until 8am, and another for snow and ice until midday.
Manchester Airport said its runways have reopened after being closed because of severe weather.
The airport said in a statement: ‘Our runways are now open but, as a result of the earlier closure, some departures and arrivals may still experience delays.
‘Please check with your airline for the latest flight information and allow extra time for your journey today.’
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Flood alerts rises to 166
The number of flood alerts has risen to 166, with an additional 12 flood warnings also issued since earlier this morning.
National Resources Wales has also issued three flood warnings and 34 flood alerts for today, with numbers expected to rise further.
Three flights cancelled at Manchester airport
Heavy delays are still in place at Manchester airport this morning after snowfall caused one of the runways to temporarily close, but only three flights have been outright cancelled so far.
According to Flightradar24, flights from Manchester to Abu Dhabi, Zurich and Copenhagen have been cancelled, while 35 departures have been delayed,
Two weather warnings are in place at the airport – one for heavy rain until 8am and another for snow and ice until midday.
Railways closed due to flooding
Flooding has forced the closure of all railway lines between Derby and both Nottingham and East Midlands Parkway.
This is affecting CrossCountry and East Midlands Railway services.
The operators are also disrupted by flooding closing all lines between Peterborough and Leicester.
Southeastern trains are unable to run from Ramsgate or Margate towards London via Canterbury West because of a fallen tree.
Flooding near Hooton, Cheshire, means Merseyrail’s Chester services are suspended while Ellesmere Port services will run as far as Hooton.
159 flood warnings in place across England
There number of flood warnings has risen from 139 to 159 today, with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning for rain covering most of southern England.
The forecaster has warned there could be travel delays, stranded vehicles and power cuts and some rural communities could be cut off.
There are also 288 ‘flood alerts’ in place, which are less severe, and mean flooding is ‘possible’.
Manchester Airport reopens it runways
Manchester Airport has reopened its runways after snowfall forced them to temporaarily close this morning.
In an update at 7:15am, the airport said that passengaers should expect heavy delays and allow extra time for their journeys.
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MORE: Which football games have been cancelled today due to the snowy weather?
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