Blackout fears in ICEBOX Britain: Snow and ice alert after -8.9C overnight as week-long freeze triggers £25 ‘cold weather payments’ to hard-hit areas… while expert ‘can’t rule out’ power outages and councils battle to employ GRITTER truck drivers
- Shap in Cumbria was hit by lows of -8.9C overnight leaving families shivering
- Forecasters have modelled early warning signs of disruptive snow for next week
- Arctic blast dubbed the ‘Troll of Trondheim’ will bring temperatures of -10C
- The Met Office has issued a yellow weather alert from Wednesday until Friday
- Sadiq Khan has triggered a protocol to shelter London’s rough sleepers
- Is your home currently without gas? Email dan.sales@mailonline.co.uk
Families were left shivering last night as temperatures plunged to sub-zero levels as the Troll of Trondheim tightened its icy grip.
Shap in Cumbria was hit by the worst of it, with the Cumbrian village getting lows of -8.9C.
But it was Stannington in Sheffield that will have suffered the hardest overnight – with a Major Incident still declared there.
Up to 2,000 properties are without gas after flooding wrecked the system earlier this week.
Snow has fallen across parts of the UK and up to six inches are predicted to fall in areas across the country in coming days (snow plough in Scotland)
Engineers continuing to try and get gas supplies back to homes in icy Stannington, Sheffield
One resident there described their home as ‘as cold as Iceland’ without fuel to warm their house.
They added they had wrapped their son in five blankets overnight but had still woken up cold.
The trigger in some areas has also been reached for some people to get cold weather payments.
Households in 300 postcodes will get £25 if they area already in receipt of certain benefits.
A woman takes a photo of the skyline from a snow covered Calton Hill in Edinburgh on Thursday
And the icy overnight conditions spelled chaos on the roads as drivers struggled to cope.
It was made worse by the news that there is also a shortage of gritter drivers.
A snow warning has been issued for parts of the UK as Arctic conditions caused temperatures to plummet overnight and the Met Office predicts up to six inches of in the coming days.
It came as reports suggested households could be alerted to cut electricity usage within days amid rising energy costs and sun and wind levels that will remain low.
Last night the Scottish Highlands saw the mercury drop to -9.3C at Aonach Mor mountain while Aberdeen saw 2in (5cm) of snow.
The Troll from Trondheim is set to bring low winds and sun exposure, making usual winter energy backups harder to come by
Gordon Pearson who took advantage of closed roads near Carrbirdge to get in a bit of cross country skiing
Temperatures dropped to -3C with snow in Whitby, Bridlington and Scarborough in North Yorkshire, while Gatwick Airport recorded -5C by midnight.
The National Grid said it is on standby to take ‘enhanced actions’ to shore up power supplies this weekend as wind levels drop, according to the Daily Telegraph.
A spokesman for the company said: ‘Margins are expected to be tighter this week, particularly for the next few days. This is based on our current assessment and is subject to change.
Locals in the village of Egton spread salt on the snow and ice to help motorists up a hill in the village
Commuters are seen traveling in the wintery conditions on the North Yorkshire Moorson Thursday
‘Our control room has a range of operational tools available to manage this. These actions also include our enhanced actions.’
The National Grid forecasts that wind generation in Britain is set to fall to 2.9 gigawatts today and 1.1 GW on Sunday.
This would take the company’s ‘spare capacity’ below ‘adequate’ levels.
It is unclear exactly what these enhanced measures are, but it could include people being paid to use less energy at peak times, the Telegraph reports.
A model suggested the snow could be focused in the south of England. The presence of snow will depend on the movement of the low pressure system in the Atlantic
A driver careered off a frosty country road in Banbury, Oxon, ending up suspended in a hedgerow
Charities warned that vulnerable elderly people could be caught out in the cold snap due to the cost of energy prices and blackout risk.
Morgan Vine, head of policy at Independent Age, said: ‘The prospect of blackouts affecting older people’s heating and electricity supply this winter is incredibly worrying.
‘Not being able to put the lights on or keep warm enough could put many older people’s health at risk, increasing the chance of falls and making health conditions worse.
‘Many older people rely on equipment that needs continuous power, have telephones connected to their broadband routers or use their TV or radio to stay connected.
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