Snow showers and freezing temperatures are forecast for much of the UK over the next few days as the met office downgrades its cold weather alert to level 3.
The level 3 warning means that there is “a 100% probability of sever cold weather … between Wednesday and Saturday … in all parts of England”.
Today and tomorrow are expected to be the coldest days with temperatures dropping as far as -6 degrees Celsius and climbing no higher than to 2 or 3 degrees, despite deceptively warm blue skies.
The Met Office reported that the “weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable patients and disrupt the delivery of services”.
Compared to our neighbours over in Europe, however, 2 and 3 degrees seems balmy – as temperatures in Russia drop as low as -36 Celsius last night.
These weather conditions bring with them a number of dangers to motorists, including the added risk of black ice.
There are a number of important things to remember when driving in freezing conditions. News Insurances outlined a few that could help below:
– If you find yourself on black ice, stay calm. The worst thing you can do is slam on the brakes or over steer.
– Keep the steering wheel straight, at least at first. If you feel the back of your car sliding out you can turn the wheel gently to counter this, but don’t make any jerky movements.
– Take your foot off the accelerator so that you slow down without having to touch the brakes. Using the breaks can cause you to skid even more.
– If you can, shift down a gear. Lower gears generally give the driver more control.
– Know what black ice looks like. While a lot of time it is almost impossible to spot, black ice often looks like a shiny part of the normal road. If you see it coming you will have more time to prepare your car.
