Road accidents in icy conditions

Image: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44351000/jpg/_44351307_flood203pa.... Water levels in Upton upon Severn should peak on Saturday

*Icy conditions following from the recent heavy rain has been causing chaos on roads in the West Midlands.* Ambulance services in Worcestershire were called to eight crashes in two hours during the morning after motorists struggled with black ice.
Solihull police reported five minor crashes and said the roads were icy.
Emergency services in the Black Country also launched a search for a woman trapped upside down in her car in water as it went into a ditch.
She was eventually found, uninjured, in a wooded area near Walsall.

BBC NEWS | England | Road accidents in icy conditions (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7184673.stm)

Storm Forecast
Valid: Sun 13 Jan 2008 06:00 to Mon 14 Jan 2008 06:00 UTC
Issued: Sat 12 Jan 2008 21:57
Forecaster: DAHL
SYNOPSIS

Main features this period will be the Mediterranean upper cut-off cyclone, which will slowly translate from Italy into the S Adriatic Sea ... and an Atlantic longwave trough which will have reached W continental Europe by early Monday morning. This feature is maintaining a reasonably intense and large SFC low attached to it, while the SFC low attendant to the Mediterranea upper low will continue its slow weakening trend.

DISCUSSION

... E Atlantic and the coasts of Spain, France, and the UK ...

It does not seem that a substantial severe convective weather threat will exist on Sunday ... in the wake of the cold front trailing from the E Atlantic SFC low, cellular convection is expected. Shear is expected to be rather weak ... except along the coast where friction retards the flow close to the surface. This suggests that a small threat for shallow/brief supercells exists along the NW coast of Spain, the W coast of France, and the SW portions of the UK late Sunday night. However, weak LL lapse rates and weak deep shear suggest that allover severe threat, including the threat for tornadoes is somewhat limited.

Otherwise, kinematic and thermodynamic fields are too weak to support an appreciable threat for severe convective weather.

I`ve just found this piece of news from todays Huddersfield Examiner.

RESIDENTS in parts of Huddersfield are counting the cost of a mini ‘tornado’.
They were left clearing up the damage left by freak winds which swept through the area on Tuesday night.
And it is believed much of the damage could have been caused by a tornado, which hit parts of Marsden and Linthwaite.
Thousands of pounds damage was caused when the gales hit the town.
Engineers spent much of yesterday restoring power and telephone lines to parts of the Colne Valley.
Insurers were also called out to assess the damage to windows, roofs and buildings in the path of the storm.
Marsden resident, Mrs Caitlin Sagan, said: “It was frightening.
“It all happened in the space of a few minutes but it was really bad.
“We had a huge sycamore tree brought down on our garden, crushing my little boy’s garden playhouse and swings.
“My neighbour had his roof damaged and another had windows put through, but the damage seems to have been on a narrow trail. Other parts of the area were undamaged.”
Mrs Sagan, living in Spring Grove with husband Stan and four-year-old Jakob, said she heard a loud bang like thunder shortly after 8pm.
“It was snowing and hailing and the winds were terrible, but within minutes they had gone.
“It was a spectacular storm and when we went out yesterday we were amazed at the trail of damage.
“It looked just like a tornado had swept through.”
Salendine Nook meteorologist Paul Stevens said it may well have been a tornado.

Mini ‘tornado’ causes damage to homes - Huddersfield Examiner (http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2008/01/10/mini...)

Please contact us if you know anything more about this.Or go here and fill in a report.

Midlands Weather Forum - A UK Weather Forum - Severe Weather Event (http://www.midlandsweather.org.uk/newthread.php?do=report)

*About 40 children are reported to be stranded at a primary school in North Somerset after rain and snow fell across the West Country on Friday. *

Access to Chew Lake Primary School is now only through neighbouring gardens.
Roads have also been flooded across the region, with the M4 at a standstill near Almondsbury. Rail services have also been badly affected.
Gloucestershire Police are monitoring the situation and rail operators have advised people not to travel.
Rail operator First Great Western (FGW) confirmed flooding around Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, as well as in Gloucester and said services would be limited on Friday, with some services cancelled.
Image: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif Image: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif *The rain, which has already turned to sleet in some areas, is expected to continue until early evening* Image: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif

Richard Angwin
BBC meteorologist

Another London-bound line is flooded at Westbury and FGW confirmed flooding on the Weymouth and Oxford lines.
On Friday afternoon several hundred people were reported to be stranded at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.
On the roads, the A39 Bath to Wells road has been flooded, as has the A378 near Taunton and the A370 at Backwell.
At Chilcompton, two ladies had to be rescued after a car became trapped in water. One person was rescued on the Long Ashton bypass in similar circumstances.
Flooding of houses and shops has also been reported on Gloucester Road in Bristol, Limpley Stoke, Lansdown, Hinton Charterhouse, Winford and Paulton.
Winterbourne and Frampton Cottrell were also said to be affected, as was the A36 from Bath to Beckington.
*'Icy roads'*
BBC meteorologist Richard Angwin said: "Heavy rain has affected the whole of the region since early on Friday.
"More than 25 millimetres has been recorded in many areas. The rain, which has already turned to sleet in some areas, is expected to continue until early evening.
"The main hazard tonight and early tomorrow morning is expected to be icy roads but further heavy rain is expected to return on Sunday."
Bristol Airport said all flights were running as normal. A flood watch has been put in place on the River Severn .

BBC NEWS | England | Flooding brings more travel chaos (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7183696.stm)

*Flood warnings have been issued for properties along two rivers in West Yorkshire while several other rivers have been put on flood watch.*

The River Calder burst its banks forcing the temporary closure of the A646 between Todmorden and Mytholmroyd.
In Bradford Canal Road was shut off to drivers as flood waters made the road impassable during the rush hour.
Levels on the rivers Calder and Colne have prompted flood warnings while the Wharfe and Aire are on flood watch.
BBC NEWS | England | Bradford | Flood warnings after heavy rains (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bradford/7180433.stm)

Anyone living near waterways that are known for flooding please visit here for updates.

Environment Agency - Flood (http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/?lang=_e)

Call Floodline on *0845 988 1188* for advice, and also read on to find out how to prepare for flooding and what action to take.

clecWMYNi1w

BBC Weather are forecasting a band of rain which will turn to snow across Wales and the Midlands and later in the day southern England on Friday, even to lower levels, as cold air moves in from the north.

If you have access to charts please could you post them here :icon_bigg thanks, Dollsworth.

---Quote (Originally by tomweatherfreak)---
It could all change next week as I will explain later, been watching the ECM for quite some time now and it's looking tasty for the seconded half of the month. :icon_bigg:);)

More later.
---End Quote---

whats this then ? :icon_lol: