... and it's going to stay freezing tomorrow
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:46 AM on 25th December 2010
- Train companies' amended timetables cause transport chaos
- London Underground to stage strike on Boxing Day
Traditional family walks to help the turkey go down could be off the cards today as December 25 is the coldest Christmas ever.
The mercury plummeted to -5.9C at Glenlivet in 1996, but that record was smashed last night when temperatures dropped to -17C at Worcester and -18C at Altnaharra in northern Scotland.
Some areas enjoyed a traditional white Christmas, with snow falling in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and north east England.
Most parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland were sunny and dry but daytime temperatures are set to remain below freezing.
Members of the Serpentine Swimming Club queue to swim at the Serpentine Lido, in Hyde Park this morning
Member have met since 1864 for their traditional 100 yards annual Christmas day swim
Met Office forecaster Michael Lawrence said many shoppers will be able to leave their umbrellas at home as they head to tomorrow's Boxing Day sales.
'Most of Britain will be a bit like today: mostly dry, bright and fine,' he said.
'It's becoming milder, and that is the theme for the next few days. We're in a less colder blip, but it's still below average for this time of year.
'Unless we get a protracted milder spell, it will keep getting relatively colder.'
But Northern Ireland is expected to get a wintry mixture of sleet, snow and rain, which could turn to ice as it falls on to cold ground.
Bookmakers were celebrating the limited snow as the biggest white Christmas gamble failed to come off.
Coral's David Stevens said: 'Fresh snowfall across the UK would have won punters a multimillion-pound Christmas present.
'However, with the exception of parts of Scotland and north east England, snow is in short supply and it looks like being a happy Christmas for the bookies.'
A man dressed as Father Christmas enters frozen water at the Serpentine Lido, in Hyde Park
The AA said call-outs on Christmas Eve were almost 40% above normal due to last-minute Christmas shopping and getaway traffic.
It covered more than 12,500 breakdowns by the end of December 24 compared with just over 9,000 on a normal Friday.
The forecasts came as rail passengers making a getaway yesterday faced reduced services along with the prospect of a similarly miserable return tomorrow which promises a string of strikes.
Meanwhile, motorists had to contend with icy roads and air passengers were beset by more delays and cancellations.
A number of train companies ran amended timetables, with some services axed on the main London to Scotland routes up the east and west coast.
To add to the misery, union militants announced cynically-timed strikes designed to hit the post-Christmas high street sales. They involve London Underground workers demanding ‘triple time’ bonuses, Northern Rail, which serves the North East, and Arriva Trains Wales.
And as travellers endured yet another bitterly cold morning, weathermen said that should the icy weather continue, the UK could be heading for its coldest December since 1890.
The sun setting over the frozen river Lagan in Belfast last night
Pleasure boats are unable to move after the River Ouse in York froze
Christmas Day may also see lower temperatures than ever before with lows of between -8C and -12C in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland at around 8am.
Scotland is also one of the only places likely to see snow today, along with parts of north east England.
Met Office forecaster Rebekah Sherwin said : 'We are expecting another very cold day.
'The lowest daytime temperatures are going to be early in the morning, at about 7am or 8am.
'Tonight has the potential to be the coldest night of this winter so far and it is possible that tomorrow will be the coldest day.
'There is also the potential for it to be extremely icy. Although there will not be much snow falling generally, we are expecting one of those really cold, crisp days.'
The warmest part of the UK is likely to be the South East, but even in London, the mercury is unlikely to rise above 3C.
The Met Office is warning that most of the UK will wake up to a cold morning with temperatures unlikely to get above freezing while later on tonight central Scotland could dip as low as -12C
'This is certainly the coldest December since 1981 but where it stands in the all-time cold Decembers rather depends on what happens in the next few days,' said Steven Davenport, a senior forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association.
'This December has the potential to be the coldest since 1890 when the central England temperature (an average for the month) was as low as minus 0.8C (30F).
'But a system is moving in from the Atlantic that will bring less cold air. This could lead to heavy and prolonged snow on the night of Boxing Day and into next Monday but after that temperatures in south-west England, and possibly London, could be as high as 10C (50F) by Wednesday.'
The Highways Agency warned drivers to expect widespread frost tonight, as temperatures fall across the country, hitting a possibly -20C in Shawbury, Shropshire.
The chaos came as investigations began into how the air, road and rail systems collapsed after a forecast bout of snow and icy weather.
Three French Hens: Lily-Ann French, 4, helps keep her chickens warm with jumpers knitted by a local WI woman in Northamptonshire
On the railways, the knock-on effect of the big freeze fiasco means passengers have been squeezed on to overcrowded trains – and in some cases denied access to carriages – so that train companies could reduce the timetable and run what they termed a more reliable or ‘robust’ service.
Bob Crow, leader of the RMT transport union, said: 'It's a scandal that the private train operating companies can simply chop 25 per cent of their services, install a 'special' timetable and avoid financial penalty.'
However many are set to suffer more misery when the militant union’s members on Northern Rail strike on December 27 and 28 in a row over Bank Holiday overtime pay. Managing director Ian Bevan said the company hoped to keep up to 40 per cent of services running but disruption was inevitable.
Those hitting the London sales will also be hit by a strike by Underground drivers tomorrow which is to go ahead after the company lost a legal challenge last night. Members of the drivers’ union Aslef will stage a 24-hour walkout over a claim for triple pay plus a day off in lieu.
Mike Brown, London Underground’s managing director, said: ‘We will be running as many Tube services as possible on Boxing Day, as well as London’s 700 bus routes and some river services.’
On top of the strikes, 15 of Britain’s 25 mainland train operating companies will shut tracks over the festive period for engineering works.
They include services on four of the seven main lines, which will be partially shut by engineering works, adding to disruption.
The West Coast line from London to Glasgow, First Great Western from London to South Wales and Penzance, and National Express East Anglia from London to Norwich will all be hit.
But it was better news for air passengers.
Wrapping up: Shoppers on Oxford Street on Christmas Eve do what they can to keep warm
British Airways was operating all its long-haul flights at Heathrow airport as well as the vast majority of short-haul services. Where possible, BA flew larger long-haul aircraft to European cities yesterday to increase its seat capacity. The airline was also hiring extra aircraft to help fly as many passengers as possible.
The airline said: 'In an attempt to free up even more seats, we are continuing to encourage customers who hold bookings to or from Heathrow up until the end of New Year's Eve to either rebook for a later date or claim a full refund if their journey is not essential.'
Away from Heathrow, other UK airports had to cancel some short-haul flights due to the continuing bad weather in Europe.
At Birmingham airport, flights to and from Brussels and Paris were affected, while Aberdeen and Edinburgh airports warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations.
Elsewhere, parts of Europe were also brought to a standstill by the wintry weather.
Passengers slept next to a Christmas tree at Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy-en-France, outside Paris, as French aviation authorities cancelled half of the flights because of the freezing conditions.
In Germany, heavy snow also caused problems on the runways.
But some were able to enjoy the picturesque scenes in the UK.
Hardy punters made their way along a frozen River Cam in Cambridge City centre, while young choristers were seen walking from King's College School to the chapel at King's College, Cambridge, this morning for the final rehearsals for the annual Christmas Eve Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
This came after many people gathered to watch the St Paul's Christmas carol service on a large screen in Paternoster Square, last night.
Airport employees clear snow from the runway at the airport in the western German city of Dusseldorf
THE TRAIN COMPANIES RUNNING AMENDED TIMETABLES
Chiltern was not only operating reduced services but also running shorter trains on some routes.
ScotRail axed a number of services, including Glasgow Queen Street to Anniesland via Maryhill, Glasgow Queen Street to Cumbernauld, Dalmuir to Springburn, Edinburgh to Perth, Newcraighall to Cowdenbeath and Glasgow Central to Ardrossan Harbour.
West Coast main line operator Virgin Trains said some services were subject to delays of up to 60 minutes, with trains to and from Glasgow Central and Manchester Piccadilly most affected.
National Express East Anglia and Stansted Express services were running to a reduced timetable, as were the services operated by the Northern Rail train company which had to axe its York to Sheffield via Pontefract services.
The East Coast train company axed eight London-Leeds services and ran amended services on some other routes.
London Midland had service alterations yesterday, with trains between London and Tring in Hertfordshire not running.
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