Black ice on roads, rails shut as Britain heads for ‘big refreeze’

The Met Office has sounded a ‘snow and ice’ warning for nearly all of England – from Plymouth to Southampton and Bristol, to northern Scotland – in place till Wednesday.

A “big refreeze” warning has been sounded across the United Kingdom as it hit another record for the coldest night this year for the second straight night. Fog and snow disrupted travel plans for many Britishers and those visiting ahead of holidays. Drivers have been warned of “black ice” – a thin, almost transparent, sheet of ice on roads which is considered lethal – and advised to stay at home as the weather was set to worsen, reports said.

A car moves along a snow covered road in Shenfield, UK, on Monday. (Bloomberg)

“Often, when you’ve had snow, it melts a bit, then it freezes overnight. Then the next morning you cannot see the ice. It’s black ice or you just can’t see it,” Edmund King, president of the AA, was quoted as saying by Independent.

The Met Office has sounded a ‘snow and ice’ warning for nearly all of England – from Plymouth to Southampton and Bristol, to northern Scotland – in place from this evening till Wednesday morning or noon. The warning was also extended to cities like London and Brighton.

Temperatures on Tuesday dipped to a record low of -17.5C in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, breaking its Monday record of -15.7C.

Rails and roads shut

Britain witnessed an almost total shutdown of railways, with only about 20% of services expected to run, the BBC reported. Meanwhile, drivers on the road were stranded for hours and traffic came to a standstill amid the ice, fog and snow.

The RAC – Britain's oldest roadside recovery services company – experienced its biggest day for car breakdowns on Monday. “Yesterday was officially our busiest day for breakdowns on record, with around 12,000 drivers needing help, the equivalent of eight every minute of the day,” said RAC Breakdown’s Rod Dennis, as quoted by The Guardian.

The Met Office had alerted commuters about icy stretches on untreated roads, pavements, and cycle paths due to the thawing of snow left over from the previous day.