Just when the weather became a little milder and temperatures began creeping up again, the UK was hit with another blast of winter weather.
Trees have been uprooted, traffic piled up and schools have been forced to close as the weather took a nosedive this week. The Met Office has issued multiple weather warnings over the past few days in a bid to keep the public safe from the severe weather.
The warnings are currently in place until the weekend.
Very strong #winds are affecting East Anglia and southeast England this morning. Expect travel disruption and some power cuts. Stay #weatheraware #windy pic.twitter.com/edid7cD85F
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 18, 2018
The Met Office issued warnings for power cuts & travel delays
The weather became so violent that the Met Office had to upgrade their original weather warning from yellow to amber in some areas of the UK.
The snow and gales caused such disruption that dozens of motorists were stranded on the M74 for up to 11 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday. For entertainment, some drivers even left their cars to build snowmen.
The hashtag #windy took a spot in Twitter’s top trends as users began documenting the various effects of the wind.
Severe gales are causing disruption to much of the UK — with gusts of up to 83 mph (134 kph). In other words, it's #windy https://t.co/EACec00vKl
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 18, 2018
The BBC took advantage of the trending # to report the latest news
The cold and #windy weather can make asthma symptoms worse. Make sure to wrap up warm and keep your reliever inhaler with you: https://t.co/RqRi8RcpQT pic.twitter.com/mB2UsLULyS
— NHS Choices (@NHSChoices) January 18, 2018
The NHS used Twitter & the trending hashtag to warn the health risks of windy weather
The severe weather did bring with it some positive news however as Britain set a new national record for wind power production. Experts claim the UK is “poised to lead its peers in wind generation”.
Did you wake to find a blanket of snow in the garden or get home to find a fallen tree on your street? Send us your pictures of the last week’s weather on Twitter: @gritbinsnet or Facebook: @gritbins