Northern England and Scotland hit by blizzard conditions
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Version 0 of 1. One man was rescued by lifeboat and another managed to scramble to shore on Sunday after they were knocked from a wall in North Yorkshire by waves during gale-force winds. An RAF helicopter was called out to help with the rescue after the pair went into the water at South Shore, Scarborough, according to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The incident happened as a blast of snowy weather brought blizzards and treacherous road conditions to parts of northern Britain. The wet weather arrived from the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday morning, bringing rain to much of the country as well as snow to Scotland and the higher areas of northern England. Forecasters said more is on the way. A spokesman said coastguards in North Yorkshire received an emergency call at 6pm on Sunday saying one person had been knocked into the sea by waves. He said: “The other was clinging to the shore. The weather conditions were poor with rough seas, gale-force winds and a very high tide.” The Scarborough coastguard rescue team, the RNLI lifeboats based at Scarborough and the RAF rescue helicopter based at Leconfield, near Hull, were sent to the scene. The spokesman said: “One person managed to scramble to safety and the other was pulled from the water by the inshore lifeboat. This person is now receiving medical attention.” Mike Puplett from Humber maritime rescue coordination centre said: “We have very high tides at the moment and when you combine this with gale-force winds you get very powerful waves. “Whilst this can look spectacular, we would ask people to please admire the force of nature at a distance. Breaking waves will knock you off your feet and are extremely dangerous for both you and the people who will be sent to rescue you.” In the Lake District, motorists encountered difficulties as higher routes were struck by white-out conditions. Cumbria police’s road traffic unit tweeted: Kirkstone Pass and The Struggle CLOSED.Several vehicles stranded & RTC's.Treacherous conditions. Please DO NOT go there #cumbriaroads The Met Office issued a further warning for snow on Monday and into Tuesday. Met Office forecaster Chris Page said accumulations at lower levels were expected to be low but up to 10cm is possible at altitudes above 200m in the north of England from Monday. Page said wind speeds of up to 60mph were likely, especially in coastal areas, adding to the blizzard conditions. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that every single place within the warning zone will see snow,” he said. “The nature of the showers is that it’s a hit-and-miss scenario.” He added that overnight ice may also cause problems for motorists. The Met Office’s latest yellow warning – meaning “be aware” – is in place for the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from just after midnight on Sunday until 3pm on Tuesday. On Saturday night, rural parts of northern England experienced freezing temperatures, while the Highlands fell as low as -7C. There are currently 16 flood warnings and more than 40 flood alerts in place across England and Wales, most covering western coastal areas. Strong winds and higher than average tides have prompted a warning of flooding risk caused by large waves. People walking on coastal paths and promenades are urged to take care, the Environment Agency said. |