BRITS are now being told to brace for floods as well as ice and snow as a blizzard continues to batter the UK.
The Met Office and the Environment Agency have warnings and alerts in place covering large swathes of the country.
Flood warnings have been put in place for this weekend[/caption]
Snow in Honley, Holmfirth, Yorkshire, yesterday[/caption]
The Environment Agency checking the flooded high street through Alconbury in Huntingdonshire on Friday morning[/caption]
People walk through a frost covered field in Barnes Common, South West London this morning[/caption]
Temperatures in rural areas across the UK last night plunged as low as minus 10 overnight, with more snow expected on higher ground today and tomorrow.
A warning for snow and ice remains in place for much of Scotland and northern England today and another covering parts of Scotland and the north of England on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has issued three flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – and 65 flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible.
Met Office meteorologist Matthew Box said rain, sleet and snow would push north-eastwards across the country over the weekend, likely falling on the hills and mountains of the Pennines, the Cumbrian vales and some parts of Scotland.
But he added the snowfall would be “nothing to the same extent as what we saw on Thursday”.
In parts of south-west England and Wales, the cold weather will likely give way to sunnier conditions later on Sunday, he added.
It comes after heavy snowfall yesterday left drivers stranded for more than seven hours on the M62 in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.
National Highways North West estimated that at one point congestion on the eastbound carriageway between Rochdale and Saddleworth stretched to around eight miles.
Emergency services also rescued eight people who were trapped in heavy snowfall for more than 12 hours in Staffordshire.
Andrew Page-Dove, of National Highways, said weather conditions will deteriorate today.
He said: “We’ve had some very cold weather overnight. We’ve got the risk of potentially freezing rain and then more snow today.
“So the conditions are actually going to get worse rather than better.
“But we will be continuously out there treating the roads and our intention is to keep the M62 open.
“We have well-rehearsed plans which we execute every time we have these types of events.
“It is purely the combination of volume of traffic and (drivers) maybe not being as well prepared for the conditions.”
