Region sees grey day of rain and fog after night of snow
There had been heavy snowfall across the Black Country and Staffordshire, with a yellow warning issued by the Met Office for snow and ice issued until midday on Sunday.
The Met Office said the snowfall would make for difficult travel conditions, and warned of icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, saying people could be injured from slips and falls on icy surfaces.
It said some roads and railways were likely to be affected, with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.
The weather made for some spectacular sights in certain places, with the Knife Angel on Gallery Square in Walsall looking eerie in the snow and lighting around it and the Dock Off Licence in Wordsley looked wintry in the early hours.
The Dock Off Licence in Wordsley looked white and crisp after snow fell during the night. Photo: Robert Tillett
The Central Motorway Police Group said overnight that it was dealing with a large number of collisions caused by the weather and urged motorists to slow down.
While areas further north were left with inches of snow and there was a dusting of snow in places in the early hours of Sunday, the snow had begun to melt across the region as temperatures rose slightly in the morning.
The Met Office has now issued a yellow warning for rain across the region.
A spokesman for the Met Office said: “Heavy rain likely to cause some disruption to travel.
“Flooding of a few homes and businesses is possible.
“Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer.
“Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer.”
The slight rise in temperature to 2C (35.6F) meant that some planned outdoor events were or are still able to take place, including the Santa Jog at Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge and the Christmas lights switch-on event in Kingswinford on Sunday evening.
The Met Office has forecast a high of 3C (37.4F) with rainy conditions for Wolverhampton and the Black Country, while Staffordshire will see a high of 1C (33.8F) with rain during the day.
Elsewhere, more than 2,500 people in Cumbria were without electricity on Sunday morning, as the county’s fire and rescue service said it worked through the night to rescue drivers from cars trapped in deep snow.
Power cuts followed Saturday’s heavy snow in Cumbria, with the Met Office issuing new weather warnings for across the UK on Sunday morning.
Electricity North West’s list of live power cuts showed at 10am that 2,508 customers were affected across Cumbria, including 256 in Lowick, South Lakeland.
In most cases, the electricity operator estimated that power would be restored at 10pm on Sunday.
In a post on social media, Electricity North West said: “Access is difficult and our teams are using 4x4s to try to reach sections of the damaged network.”
Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service (CFRS) said a multi-agency response was ongoing after Cumbria Police declared a major incident in the county on Saturday in response to heavy snowfall on roads.
In a post on social media on Sunday morning, it said: “CFRS have been working through the night rescuing people from their cars trapped in deep snow.
“Please do not travel unless necessary as many roads are still affected with snow and ice.”
Cumbria Police also urged people not to travel to the county on Sunday unless necessary, adding that some highway teams had been “verbally abused” as they attempted to deal with the situation.
The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued amber cold health alerts in five regions, the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber, until December 5, meaning “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.