BRITAIN is braced for heavy snow tonight, with flights already grounded with temperatures set to plunge to -10C.
Passengers at Bristol Airport have been hit with travel chaos tonight as more than a dozen aircraft failed to leave the tarmac amid snow and ice.
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Tracking website FlightRadar revealed at least nine flights scheduled to arrive at the airport have been diverted.
They have been redirected to Birmingham, Cardiff and Belfast.
Meanwhile over a dozen aircraft have been delayed in their arrival or departure from the airport there have been two departure cancellations.
A Bristol Airport spokesperson said: “We’re sorry for the inconvenience caused to customers by tonight’s forced closure.
“There may be knock-on delays tomorrow [Sunday] as some aircraft are out of position.
“Passengers are advised to check their airline’s website or app for more information.”
Elsewhere, a Met Office spokesman said there was a good chance rural communities would be cut off, with up to 16in of snowfall expected in some higher areas.
Significant disruption is predicted as the forecaster put in place snow warnings for most of England and the whole of Wales until midnight tonight, and in northern areas of Scotland until 10am today.
And, a UK Health Security Agency cold alert warning of a rise in deaths is in place until Wednesday.
On the roads, travel chaos has been reported on the M5 southbound due to a collision and motorists have been warned by National Highways there could be further delays.
Elsewhere, The Environment Agency has also issued several flood alerts, with 38 currently in place.
Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: “This weekend will bring a range of weather hazards to the UK, notable snow accumulations, freezing rain, ice and heavy rain as well as some gusty conditions.
“We have issued a number of severe weather warnings, including amber warnings for snow and ice in parts of England and Wales.
“Some significant accumulations of snow are possible across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England in particular, where 2in or more could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 8in to 1ft over high ground of mid and north Wales, and potentially 16in over parts of the Pennines.
“This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.
“There is a risk of freezing rain across parts of the Midlands and northern England, but especially Wales, adding to the risk of ice and leading to some treacherous conditions in places.”
Despite the worries, cross-country skiers made the most of snow already fallen in Scotland, swimmers braved the chilly waters of Bristol harbour, while tourists punting on the Cam in Cambridge kept warm under blankets.
But the Met Office warned travel delays and cancellations were likely and added: “There is a good chance that some rural communities could become cut off.”
There was a good chance of power cuts while other services — such as mobile phone coverage — might be hit.
Officials advised drivers planning journeys to check their vehicle pack blankets, food, water and a shovel and keep their distance on roads..
It comes after temperatures plummeted to -8C overnight in some areas.
The mercury dropped to a bone-chilling -8C at 2am in Aboyne, Scotland.
Now, the Met Office have issued an amber alert for snow and ice which covers most of Wales and the north of England from 6pm today until 12pm Sunday.
Regions like the East Midlands, West Midlands, and Yorkshire are among those in the firing line, alongside parts of Wales and London.
A second amber warning for snow, covering northern England runs from 9pm today to midnight Sunday.
Heavy snow is predicted to sweep across the country, with 3-7cm expected in many areas and a whopping 15-30cm over the hills of Wales and the Pennines.
There is even a chance of 40cm of snow for ground above 300m, said forecasters.
The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for snow across England and Wales, stretching from Newcastle down to London.
This is in place from 12pm today until midnight on Sunday.
The forecaster issued a further yellow weather warning for snow covering the Shetland Islands between 10am and 6pm today.
“Persistent sleet or snow on Saturday may cause some disruption,” the warning advises.
The weather agency says that 2-5cm of sleet or snow may potentially accumulate “in quite a few places”, with up to 10cm over high ground.
Elsewhere, another yellow warning for ice covers the entirety of Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland from 4pm until 10am tomorrow.
Another covers Iverness, Scotland, to Carlisle in England from 9am tomorrow to 6am Monday.
Meanwhile, health bosses have issued amber alerts for the whole of England from now until January 8.
Temperatures plummeted to -5C overnight into Friday in parts of Cheshire and Somerset.
Elsewhere, those in Eskdalemuir, Scotland, experience the same sub-zero figures on Thursday night.
The mercury dropped to the lowest point overnight at -8C in Benson, Oxfordshire.
Meanwhile, Shap in Cumbria felt temperatures of -7.4C, according to the Met Office.
It comes after a baby boy was tragically killed in a horror crash on Thursday with police investigating whether the incident was linked to icy conditions.
Officers were called to the scene of a single-vehicle collision involving a yellow Honda Jazz on the A1 in Lincolnshire near Grantham just after 10.50pm.
The baby, a seven-month-old, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead just after 5am, Lincolnshire Police said.
A statement added that police believed ‘icy conditions on the carriageway’ may have caused the crash.
Cops warned others to “stay safe” on the roads due to dangerous conditions caused by weather.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “The snow will be persistent and locally heavy, with freezing rain bringing hazardous travel conditions before milder air starts to thaw things out on Sunday morning.”
The UK Health Security Agency warned a rise in deaths is likely, particularly among the elderly and people with health problems.
The Met Office has warned people to be prepared and aware when travelling with longer journey times likely.
Railways are likely to experience delays or cancellations, with National Rail confirming that various routes across the UK are impacted.
Conditions should become a little warmer over the weekend before cold snap sets in again early next week.
Met Office expert Dan Stroud said: “The second half of the weekend should be in the high singles or low doubles.
“But temperatures will dive again next week, particularly on Monday and Tuesday.
“They should start to improve towards the latter end of the week – but there’s a lot of water to go under the bridge until then.”
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