Forecasters deny providing insufficient warning of snow

Wintry conditions returned with a vengeance across a swathe of Britain today, bringing chaos to millions of commuters as heavier-than-expected snowfall once more brought roads, railways and airports to a halt.

The renewed snow showers, which reversed the early signs of a thaw in parts of the country, led to the closure of hundreds of schools and dramatically increased the difficulties faced by gritting teams as they struggled to balance a 50 per cent reduction in salt use with keeping major routes open.

With some rural communities still cut off and a litany of weather-related problems from potholes and water leaks to uncollected rubbish and power cuts, the prime minister Gordon Brown promised a full review of Britain’s preparedness for extreme weather once the cold snap is over.

The Met Office admitted it had been caught by the surprise by heavy snowfall across London and southern England which caused large-scale disruption to the morning rush hour. One commuter took four and a half hours to complete the 12-mile journey from his Surrey home to London. Further warnings of heavy snow remained in place last night for north-west England, the Midlands and southern England.

Forecasters denied claims that they had failed to provide sufficient warning of the overnight snow, which left south western counties badly affected. In Gloucestershire, 215 routes were declared impassable as snow ploughs struggled to clear two feet-deep drifts. Yorkshire suffered its worst disruption of winter as black ice made many roads treacherous. In North Yorkshire, four gritting lorries skidded off the roads. In Wales, some 800 schools - nearly half the total - were closed.

Runways at London City, Birmingham International, Southampton and Cardiff airports were closed for much of the morning. Gatwick remained shut until 3.15pm, forcing delays and dozens of cancellations. Among those delayed was a team of six West Sussex firefighters who had been scrambled to join the earthquake rescue operation in Haiti.

A Met Office spokesman said: “We had anticipated snow in all the places where it fell. The problem which arose was that it did not become clear it was going to fall more heavily until later in the night when many people would have already gone to bed. The fact that there were a few centimetres more than expected would have come as a surprise to many.”

The renewed disruption came on St Hilary’s day, held by ancient folklore to be the coldest day of the year. But average daytime temperatures nudged closer to the seasonal norm about 6C, reaching 9C in parts of the south west.

Forecasters said the weakening of the “blocking front” which caused the extreme cold weather of the last fortnight meant that warmer air off the Atlantic will cross Britain in the coming days, bringing with it much milder conditions and heavy rain on Saturday. The Met Office said there was a potential risk of localised flooding where the rain coincided with a renewed thaw.

Mr Brown insisted that the efforts of workers and volunteers to cope with “the worst weather for 30 years” was a tribute to Britons’ ability to work together in adverse conditions.

But the Conservative leader, David Cameron, said the pressure of salt supplies, which has forced the Highways Agency and local authorities to cut by half the amount of salt and concentrate only on trunk roads, showed there were lessons to be learned from the severe weather. Motoring organisations called for emergency funds to deal with an epidemic of pot holes caused by water freezing in cracked roads. The London Borough of Harrow said it expected a £2m bill. Elsewhere, domestic rubbish has lain uncollected for up to five weeks as waste workers struggle to cope with iced pavements.

Mr Brown conceded the need to examine the problems, saying: “We will review all these arrangements after this winter period.”

Meanwhile, hospitals and solicitors confirmed a steep rise in injuries and compensation claims linked to the slippery conditions. The Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust said it had seen a doubling of visits to its casualty departments with high numbers of injuries caused by slips and falls. The Yorkshire Ambulance Trust said it had received four times the normal number of 999 calls yesterday.

Law firms in Liverpool, Stoke, Exeter and London said they had seen a sharp increase in enquiries about legal claims related to car accidents and falls caused by the snow.