Britain is braced for sub-zero temperatures as a cold blast of Arctic air sweeps the country in the aftermath of Storm Christoph.
The Met Office said snow and ice would cause travel disruption in large parts of the country as temperatures drop as low as -10c in Scotland and -7c in parts of northern England.
The freezing conditions are likely to hamper the cleanup effort from Storm Christoph, which caused the flooding of about 550 properties in northern England and Wales.
Care home residents were among those evacuated in several areas across Cheshire this week, while a helicopter crew rescued a family trapped in their home because of fast-flowing flood water in Wales.
Forecasters warned that river levels remained “exceptionally high” in parts of northern and central England, where a month’s worth of rain fell on already-saturated ground in just 48 hours in some areas.
Dr Kate Marks, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said the record river levels could bring flooding at the weekend, particularly along parts of the River Severn, with the risk of damage to buildings in some communities.
She said the north-west of England, which was badly hit by Storm Christoph, faced further flood damage next week with more rain on the way. She added: “We urge people to keep away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”
Yellow weather warnings are in place for snow and ice across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and large swathes of north and west England from 4pm on Friday until 10.30am on Saturday.
In England, one severe flood warning, indicating danger to life, remains in place at the River Dee at Farndon but a further 137 flood warnings have been issued. Natural Resources Wales has issued a severe flood warning for the Lower Dee Valley from Llangollen to Trevalyn Meadows and three flood warnings for other parts of the country.
Storm Christoph brought record breaking levels of rain to parts of England. Provisional figures show Honister, in Cumbria, received 123.8mm of rainfall on Tuesday, a new daily rainfall record for this winter. Redcar and Cleveland received more than its average January rainfall in just a 48-hour period.
Steve Willington, Met Office chief meteorologist, said large parts of the UK would see snow and ice into the weekend.
• This article was amended on 29 January 2021. An earlier version referred to Met Office rainfall data from “Cleveland, in North Yorkshire”. This has been corrected to Redcar and Cleveland, the unitary authority area that lies within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.
