Big freeze set to last the rest of week

THE freezing weather and dangerous road conditions are set to continue until early next week, forecasters warned today.

They say commuters could face major disruption for several more days as temperatures remain below zero.

Last night they fell to -9C across Kent and Hampshire, while in London -5C was recorded at Kew. "The massive snowfall of Sunday and yesterday will remain and in a lot of places will have been compacted and started to melt, before being refrozen overnight by the bitterly cold temperatures," said Met Office forecaster Chris Almond.

"Today is going to be very cold, although there won't be much fresh snowfall. We will even begin to see some more sunshine tomorrow, which looks set to be a nice day.

"However, late tomorrow we are going to see rain and sleet falling, which could create problems on the roads. Thursday will also see more snow falling, although not too heavily. The occasional snowfalls will remain until Saturday, with the possibility of some heavier snow on Sunday."

Scotland, Wales and northern England suffered the worst of today's wintry weather. Higher parts of the Pennines and the Borders had extensive snow falls overnight.

Although forecasters predict today will only see light snow showers across London, they say that roads will remain dangerous following yesterday's deluge.