UK households urged to buy bread and milk for snowstorm

UK households are being urged to buy bread and milk as more snow is forecast to sweep the country.

Three yellow weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued by the Met Office, with the forecaster saying power cuts could occur and rural areas may be cut off.

Snowfall has already fallen widely across much of the UK, with 12cm of snow recorded at Watnall, Nottinghamshire on Tuesday morning. The national forecaster said up to 20cm of snow is possible in some areas on higher ground, while between five and 10cm is expected at lower levels.

The weather warnings cover parts of Scotland, northern England, north Wales, the north Midlands and the whole of Northern Ireland up until Wednesday, but the Met Office has said updates to the warnings throughout the week are likely.

Temperatures are also expected to plummet below freezing for much of the country, causing ice to form on untreated surfaces, making travel conditions difficult.

With power cuts and sub-zero temperature warnings in place, households are being urged to prepare for the cold snap by ensuring they are well stocked with essential items at home.

Direct Energy says households should make sure they have bread and milk at home in case they aren’t able to get to their local shop, or they’re affected by a power outage, during a bout of bad weather.

The firm said: “After heavy snowfall or blizzard conditions, you could find yourself snowed in for days. Getting cut off from your local grocery store could be made worse by a prolonged power outage, which would leave you with just a few hours to enjoy the remaining contents of your fridge safely.

“But if you stock your pantry with filling shelf-stable foods, you won’t go hungry while waiting for the snow to be cleared.”

According to consumer retail experts, bread and milk are often panic bought when the snow arrives, but shoppers shouldn’t rush to buy more than they need.

The mad dash for these items was seen here in the UK back in 2018 during the infamous Beast from the East, when we reported how shoppers had been clearing supermarket shelves of these essentials and even taking items straight from delivery vans.

Consumer retail experts told CNN: “With every predicted blizzard, there’s a mad dash to load up on milk, bread, eggs and toilet paper.

“Sure, there are some variations, including booze, snack foods and even ice cream. Yet these items are the first to disappear from store shelves when the dreaded s-word is mentioned.”

Explaining the phenomenon of panic buying milk and bread, author and anthropologist Sharon Wolfgang said: “Now, why do people buy milk and bread when they expect snow? (And they actually do; I’ve often seen supermarket bread sections completely empty the day before a predicted storm.)

“Two reasons, I think. First, those are two basic foods that most people want to have on hand all the time, especially if they have children. Heavy snow makes it hard to go to the store, so people make sure they get a supply of the basics while they can.”

At the moment, there are no confirmations of any shortages of bread or milk in major UK supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Morrisons or Sainsbury’s, but panic buyers could end up creating some. So if you’re heading out to buy these items to ride out the snowstorm, don’t stockpile – just buy what you need.