UK weather LIVE: More snow forecast in cold snap as hundreds of flood warnings issued

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber cold health alert for the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands and South West of England until 12pm on Friday 12 January.

More than 100 flood warnings remain in place following last week’s Storm Henk deluge as large parts of the UK endured a cold, frosty morning.

The Environment Agency said 126 flood warnings remain in England where flooding is expected, including a flood warning on the River Thames southwest of London in Wraysbury.

The agency says flooding of property and roads was expected around Friary Road, The Embankment, Ousley Road and Riverside areas.

The majority of flood warnings are in the south of England and the Midlands, particularly through Reading, Slough, Oxford, Salisbury and further north in Cheltenham and Peterborough.

There are also 136 flood alerts in place throughout the same areas where flooding is possible.

After snowfall yesterday, today is going to be another “cold and frosty” day with wintry showers continuing and temperatures plunging to freezing levels, according to the Met Office forecast.

Showers are expected to begin clearing westwards as the day progresses, with weather remaining mostly dry elsewhere, but temperatures will largely remain below average with widespread frost, the forecaster said.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said today would be drier with limited snowfall, apart from some wintry showers in Cornwall.

A cold wind coming in from the east means there will be a “significant wind chill” again, which will make temperatures feel more like minus 3C in the South West of England.

“We’re not expecting much in the way of further snowfall on Tuesday. In actual fact, it will be much sunnier than today, particularly in the south compared to Monday,” He told the PA news agency.

The weather service had issued a yellow warning for ice across southern England and South Wales overnight which lasted till 3am.

It came as parts of southern England, including London and Kent, saw snowfall on Monday morning in a cold start to the week.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the Government’s response to flooding is not “good enough” and vowed he would take pre-emptive action as he toured streets being cleared up after last week’s deluge.

Sir Keir was speaking after Ian Clements, 68, showed him around his drenched semi-detached house in Loughborough, Leicestershire, on Monday morning.

Mr Clements described how water from the nearby canal surged down Bottleacre Lane on Wednesday, reaching more than a foot deep in his lounge.

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Britain is enduring its wettest winter in 130 years as large parts of the country are submerged in water. More than 300 flood warnings have been issued in the aftermath of Storm Henk, as more than 1,000 properties have been flooded and rivers across the country burst their banks.

Since September, there have been eight named storms – the highest number in a season to be named by the Met Office – with the period between July and December last year being the wettest on record since 1890.

Prof Hannah Cloke, a hydrologist at the University of Reading, said the storms have turned the country into a “sopping wet sponge”.

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The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber cold health alert for the North West, West Midlands, East Midlands and South West of England until 12pm on Friday 12 January.

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Mr Sunak has sought to defend the Government’s record on flood protection as he spoke to the media in front of the fast-moving River Thames on Sunday.

He said: “We have over 1,000 Environment Agency personnel on the ground in local communities helping, over 200 pumps have been deployed.

“We’ve invested £5.2 billion in flood defences over the period in question – that’s a record sum, far more than we’ve done (previously); in the future that’s contributed to protecting over 300,000 homes.

“And, of course, there have been many people affected by what’s happened over the past week, but also over 49,000 have been protected from flooding.”

Environment Minister Robbie Moore said “2,000 properties are flooded” as a result of Storm Henk.

Making a statement to the Commons, the floods minister told MPs: “The Government began planning for the elevated flood risk as soon as the Met Office forecast indicated an unsettled period of weather over Christmas and the new year. The Environment Agency started planning and preparing in the week before Christmas.”

Shadow environment secretary Steve Reed criticised the Government’s long-term record, saying: “With one-in-six homes at risk of flooding, homeowners must be horrified that their Government has done little more than stare out of the window and watch the rain come down.”