Midlands weather: End of the cold snap edges closer
The winter blast looked to be making its final push today in the West Midlands.
Temperatures were today edging above freezing, and by Monday it will be a positively balmy 7°C.(45F).
But in the meantime there is plenty of chaos continuing across a snow-weary region, with many roads still in a dangerous condition and many events cancelled.
Many roads remained impassable. Burntwood & Cannock Chase Community First Responders posted a video on Facebook from Wimblebury Road in Heath Hayes:
Many other concerts or sports fixtures are cancelled over the weekend after travel plans were widely disrupted.
Tonight's Elbow concert at Birmingham's Genting Arena is still scheduled to go ahead.
A number of trains from Wolverhampton to Birmingham New Street were cancelled this morning. Yesterday, hundreds of schools remained closed yesterday as drivers who did venture out faced huge snow drifts and icy roads.
Weekend forecast
The Met Office says the Midlands can expect further light snowfall on Saturday, but temperatures will begin to rise up to a maximum of 3°C.
It said there would be hazardous ice and snow in some places to start the day, with further light snowfall likely at times. As temperatures starting to lift above zero, some of the ice and snow may start to melt into the afternoon.
More snowfall is expected overnight on Saturday, although this is likely to turn increasingly to rain by the morning, as the air becomes less cold. The overnight minimum temperature is expected to be -4°C.
On Sunday, outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow are expected, with the snow mainly confined to the hills and high ground, as temperatures gradually start to rise, up to a maximum temperature of 5°C.
A yellow alert for ice is in place from 11am on Saturday until 11am on Sunday.
The Met Office says: "Icy stretches will continue to be likely on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths during the rest of Saturday onwards into Sunday.
"In addition some snow is likely at times, although away from higher ground in Wales, eastern Northern Ireland, the Midlands and northern England amounts are likely to be small. As a result, driving conditions may become difficult and there is an increased chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces."
Soldiers at the Clive Army Barracks at Tern Hill in Shropshire have been deployed to help the NHS staff and patients.
Defence Secretary and South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson visited and spoke to troops in the control room and on the ground.
He said: “I live not far away in Codsall, so I wanted to come over and see how things have been operating, and to see what a great job the regiment is doing.”
The crew was on an emergency call in Sparkhill, Birmingham, at 11.30am on Friday, when they reported they were threatened because they had parked parallel to a car, although they were not blocking the road.
Yellow warnings for snow remain in place for much of the region, while weather has also disrupted council services across the Midlands.
Wolverhampton council suspended all bin collections yesterday, with bins due to be taken on residents’ next scheduled collection date. Sandwell Council said general waste, recycling and food waste will be collected where possible but no garden waste collections took place.
Bin collections in Stafford were also suspended until Monday, with Birmingham City Council also suspending refuse, recycling and bulky collections yesterday – hitting parts of Great Barr.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was unable to transport non-priority patients to outpatient appointments yesterday, according to the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust. Meanwhile one of the region’s favourite venues, the Black Country Living Museum, was also shut due to the weather.
But the perishing conditions also brought some freak conditions to Wolverhampton.
James Aldridge and Adam Crutchley spotted a strange phenomenon while walking around a snowy Finchfield.
In photos taken by the pair a toppled tree looks to have spontaneously combusted – with Mr Aldridge speculating this was due to ‘pressure and friction caused when it collapsed’.
