Britain will see a massive plunge in temperatures from Thursday with lows of -10°C forecast and a potential for a freak phenomenon known as ‘Thunder Snow’. Army troops are ready to help towns and villages battered by extreme weather as Britain braces for eight inches of snow triggered by an Arctic blast.
High winds have already caused widespread travel disruption and power cuts, with forecasters warning of more dangerous conditions to follow.
Mixed with continuing high winds, it could lead to ‘blizzard-like conditions’ with severe weather warnings in place.
Dozens of flights to and from Heathrow have been cancelled ahead of the Arctic weather expected in the UK on Thursday.
The air-traffic service, NATS, is expected to restrict flight arrivals from 3pm in order to allow ground teams to remove snow from the taxiways and runways at Europe’s busiest airport.
British Airways alone has already cancelled more than 50 departures and arrivals, including multiple flights to Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Geneva, Madrid, Milan and Rome.
Passengers booked on BA short-haul flights due to depart from 3pm onwards on Thursday are being invited to re-book for an alternative flight either earlier in the day or on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Aer Lingus has cancelled two round-trips between Dublin and Heathrow, while one Lufthansa rotation to Munich has also been grounded.
The Dutch airline, KLM, also said passengers booked between Heathrow and Amsterdam could re-book for other dates.
Virgin Atlantic also made a similar offer stating that, due to the forecast weather conditions in South East England, customers booked to travel from London Heathrow on 12 January 2017 who prefer to rebook may do so without penalty.
