Households warned to stockpile '3 days of food and medicine' as new snow warning issued

Households in several parts of the UK including London should stockpile medicine as well as drinking water and food following a fresh snow warning. A new snow warning was issued by the Met Office for much of the UK on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, following snow blanketing several areas in England and Scotland already on Monday night. Now, the forecaster has issued another yellow weather warning for ice while also forecasting more snow could be on the way, for a huge part of England from Stoke down to Portsmouth, including Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Oxford, Cambridge, Exeter and Canterbury as well as Cardiff in south Wales.

And advice from energy supplier British Gas , which is made available to help customers deal with and prepare for snow, says households should have ‘three days' worth’ of food and medicine on hand when snow is forecast. A spokesperson said: “It’s a good habit to have at least three days’ worth of food and essentials stored in an easy-to-reach part of your home. “That’s things like medicines, drinking water, non-perishable food and snacks, and extra blankets.



You should also keep a torch, batteries and a phone charger close by too.” British Gas also advised households to keep doorways clear of ice and snow, trim any overhanging branches which could break and injure someone or break something due to the weight of snow, and to make sure your boiler and heating is working correctly. The new Met Office warning is in place from 5pm on Tuesday, November 19 until 10am on Wednesday.

The forecaster said; “Rain, sleet and snow will continue to clear southwards across England and Wales with clearing skies to follow. Temperatures are expected to fall below or close to freezing quite widely across the warning area with icy patches forming on untreated freezing surfaces.” Several other warnings for snow and ice are in force across the UK, with the Met Office advising that vehicles could be stranded, power cuts may occur and rural areas could be cut off.

By Tuesday afternoon, more than 200 school closures had been reported, with around 140 recorded in Wales. Snowfall was also widely reported, with 12cm of lying snow recorded at Watnall, Nottinghamshire on Tuesday morning as an Arctic airmass influenced the UK’s weather. Thousands of train passengers suffered disruption due to the weather on Tuesday morning.

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