UK Weather Met Office upgrades weather warning to red

UK Weather Met Office upgrades weather warning to red



A snow-covered Britain is set for more weather-related disruption as Storm Emma is due to hit the country tomorrow - bringing a 'dangerous cocktail' of black ice, blizzards and gale force winds. 



But first commuters face treacherous journeys home as disruption is reported across Greater Anglia, ScotRail, Southern and Thameslink trains with severe delays reported on the London underground. 



ScotRail, which has already cancelled services and will not be running trains today or tomorrow, told passengers they should 'head for home NOW'.   



And tragedy has struck in south London after a man was rescued from a frozen lake trying to save his dog.



Emergency services were called to Danson Lake in Danson Park, Welling, south east London today following the incident as temperatures plummeted to minus two degrees.



The man in his 60s was pulled from the water and has been taken to a South London hospital. He was pronounced dead earlier tonight. 



For the first time in five years, the Met Office has activated a red snow warning - its highest level of weather alert - for Glasgow and Edinburgh, which means extreme weather is expected from now until 10am tomorrow.



Their warning comes as:



The RAC experiences its busiest day in 10 years

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled

1,600 schools have been closed

NHS cancels clinics and 16ins more to come

Pedestrians warned of lows of -15 create deadly conditions 

Forecasters have warned of up to 1ft 5in (40cm) of snow falling in the area, roads becoming blocked, long delays on buses and trains and some communities being cut off for 'several days' along with 'long' power cuts.



The Met Office definition of a red warning is that 'you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather' and that widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely'.



Forecasters have also warned of strong winds hitting the country tomorrow along with freezing rain from the afternoon, which will create black ice and impact the evening rush hour - including in London.





Football matches have been postponed across Scotland , winds whipping off the North Sea blew a lamp post onto a moving car, and the Virgin train line between Carlisle and Scotland was shut with no replacement buses.



All schools and nurseries in Glasgow were closed for today due to the weather amid the snowy and icy conditions, one day after four people died in two separate road accidents in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.



John Paul Capstick, 57, of Wisbech, was today named as the man who died in the A47 crash near Peterborough at 9.45am yesterday. Five vehicles were involved in the collision and another person suffered minor injuries.



More than 1,300 schools have been shut across England today, including 529 in Kent, 244 in North Yorkshire, 370 in Suffolk, 49 in East Sussex, 41 in Stockton-on-Tees, 40 in Doncaster, 38 in Middlesbrough and 35 in Hartlepool.



Glasgow City Council, West Lothian Council and Renfrewshire Council have closed all schools. In Aberdeenshire more than 120 schools are shut, while in the Highlands there are at least 47 schools and 25 nurseries closed.



County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service tweeted that officers had been dealing with accidents in the 'terrible weather', including one involving a classic Mini which had crashed perilously close to a cliff.





There were several road accidents last night and in the early hours of this morning, Highways England said, including a crash between a car and motorcycle on the M3 in Surrey in which one person was seriously injured.

Police across the country advised motorists to avoid driving if possible. Fire crews had to pull a trapped man from a vehicle following an early-morning crash between two cars and a lorry near Williton, Somerset.



A crash involving three HGVs has blocked the A1 north of Alnwick in Northumberland, Northumbria Police said. No one was seriously injured but the northbound carriageway will be closed while it is cleared.



Several lorries became stuck in snow drifts and jack-knifed on roads, including on the A1 in Cambridgeshire and the A66 in Cumbria, leading to long delays and rescue efforts.



A number of roads have been cleared and reopened, including the A59 in North Yorkshire between Harrogate and Skipton and the A282 in Dartford after crews removed a stranded lorry, Highways England said.



In Leicestershire, motorists were advised to avoid the A1 between the A1139 and the A61