Snow closes hundreds of schools in southern England
- Published
Snow has closed hundreds of schools across the region, including in Hartley Wintney, Hampshire
Hundreds of schools across the south of England have been closed due to heavy snowfall.
An amber weather warning, the second-highest alert, was in place across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Surrey.
In Buckinghamshire, 308 schools are closed while in Oxfordshire, more than 200 have shut. Hundreds more are closed across the region.
Power cuts have been reported across the South.
The Met Office said 5cm of additional snow was expected to fall across the region.
An amber weather warning that was in place until 11:00 GMT has now been downgraded to a yellow snow warning.
Across the region hundreds of schools have closed their doors because of the adverse weather conditions.
Picture postcard: Snow has covered houses in Gold Hill in Shaftesbury, Dorset
In Hampshire more than 200 are closed, while in Dorset more than 110 schools have shut around the county.
It comes after snow depths of 12cm in Bodmin, Cornwall, which led to about 100 cars getting stranded on the A30 overnight.
Earlier, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said power cuts, external were reported in Southampton, Blandford Forum and Goring-on-Thames.
Bournemouth Airport's airfield was closed on Friday morning, delaying some departures, but staff cleared the snow from the airfield and it was reopened at 09:00 GMT.
RAF Brize Norton is thought to have received the heaviest snowfall in the region with 12cm falling overnight.
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Chiltern Railways services were affected during rush hour due to train crews being delayed. Some services ran with fewer carriages.
Thames Valley Police, which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, warned drivers not to travel unless it was absolutely essential.
A spokesperson said the snowfall had left "many roads extremely treacherous or impassable".
Major roads appear to be largely unaffected in the region after widespread gritting operations were put in place by Highways England and local authorities.
But there is severe disruption on the A338 in Berkshire on both carriageways.
- Published1 February 2019
- Published1 February 2019
