More UK Weather Warnings After Blizzards Bring Major Roads To Standstill

'Be prepared'.
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The UK is braced for gusts of up to 70mph and heavy snow in parts, with police warning against any travel after a weather warning was upgraded to severe.

Persistent snow and ice caused treacherous driving conditions and brought the M74 in Scotland to a standstill.

Forecasters have issued a fresh amber “be prepared” warning of heavy snow for southern Scotland and northern England on Wednesday into Thursday.

The Met Office also warn of a chance of gusts of up to 70mph in north west England and Wales from 12.05am, before moving across parts of Lincolnshire and East Anglia early on Thursday morning.

Dozens of schools have been closed in parts of Scotland, while public transport has been disrupted by the weather.

Police Scotland closed parts of the M74 in Lanarkshire in both directions due to wintry conditions for a number of hours overnight. The road later reopened.

Elsewhere a runaway lorry slid down a snowy street then crashed into a fence on Tuesday morning in Glenmavis, North Lanarkshire.

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Witness Niki Blackhall, who filmed the incident, said: “The men in the truck got out to help the crashed cars and the truck slid away.

“It hit our wall. I’m just glad nobody was injured and the wall stopped the truck from sliding down the hill, as the outcome would have been a lot worse.”

Mountain rescue teams were drafted in to check on drivers on the M74 overnight, many of whom were stuck in their vehicles for several hours.

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has apologised to those stranded in their vehicles overnight.

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Police declared a critical incident and said that more than 200 people were stranded.

Public Health England issued cold weather alerts and health warnings in light of the cold weather, urging people to take extra care.

The Met Office amber warning advises that travel disruption is likely, with a risk that some vehicles may be stranded.

The warning, which runs from 9pm on Wednesday until 5am on Thursday, says that 3-8cm of fresh snow is likely to accumulate widely, with up to 20cm over high ground.

Yellow “be aware” warnings of snow and ice for much of the country are valid until Friday.

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