While the North gets snow, we get flood warnings

On Friday, the River Thames burst its banks, causing water to wash through parts of the city. Further flooding is expected in several parts of central London over the course of the weekend.

There have been a total of 16 flood warnings issued around London and parts of Greenwich and Charing Cross have already been hit with the floodwater.

Other affected areas include Putney and Kew, with the warnings stretching all the way from Putney in South West London to Greenwich in South East London.

The localised flooding has been caused by the combination of the recent Storm Imogen, which passed through the UK on Monday afternoon, and the high spring tide. More warnings are expected over this wet weekend.

Engineering Manager at the Thames Barrier, Steve East, told The Daily Mail: “We are closing the barrier to protect London from the threat of flooding due to the high level of rain last week combined with high tides from the sea.”

The Thames Barrier, which is one of the largest flood protection barriers in the world protecting 125 square km of London, closed for the first time this winter and for the 176th time since the beginning of its operation in 1982.

It has since been reopened, although tonight the river is predicted to reach a depth of 5.6 metres in some parts.

Meanwhile, parts of Scotland and the North of England are set to experience snow this weekend, with yellow warnings being issued across Northern parts of the UK.

Temperatures are set to drop to -15°C at night in Scotland, -10°C in the North and -6°C in the South of England. This is much colder than the -3°C average for this time of year.

A Met Office spokesman told The Telegraph: “A front over central and southeast Scotland will move slowly and erratically southwards into the far north of England. This will bring outbreaks of mainly rain and sleet over eastern coastal areas and to low levels, but some snow to low levels inland and heavy snow likely across higher ground at times.”

He advised: “Please be aware of difficult travelling conditions and the risk of some transport disruption due to both snow and icy surfaces.”

Unfortunately, there has been no forecast for snow in London over the next week, although temperatures on Monday are predicted to drop to -1°C during the night.