Snow - ITV News

4:00 am, Wed 27 Mar 2013 Big freeze 'for another month'

SSE: Power could be fully restored by Thursday night

Yesterday Scottish and Southern Energy restored electricity to 700 homes and 400 engineers are expected to continue their efforts today to fix power lines toppled by heavy snow.

It is thought the hundreds of homes still without power everyone will be reconnected by the end of tomorrow.

Conditions continue to be challenging, but we believe that, providing no further significant damage to the network is found, customers who lost their supply as a result of the recent severe weather event should have electricity restored by the end of Thursday night.

– Scottish and Southern Energy

3:42 am, Wed 27 Mar 2013 Big freeze 'for another month'

Hundreds face sixth day without power

Hundreds of people in the West of Scotland are facing a sixth day without power.

In Kintyre, 925 homes remained cut off overnight, and 725 in Argyll, Scottish and Southern Energy said.

Workers fixing a power line in Kintyre, West Scotland Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

On Friday 18,000 properties were plunged into darkness, when areas were badly affected by severe weather.

Heavy sheets of ice and snow toppled two transmission pylons, causing mass power cuts.

Stranded sixth formers describe Scottish snow survival

by Chris Halpin

A group of students from Wolverhampton who were stranded in extreme snow in Scotland for more than three days tell their story of survival.

Read the full story

7:20 pm, Tue 26 Mar 2013 Big freeze 'for another month'

Weather update: Up to 5cm of snow on high ground overnight

The odd snow flurry is possible almost anywhere tonight, but the eastern parts of Scotland, the north-east of England and south-east of Northern Ireland could see up to 5cm on high ground.

ITV Weather Presenter Alex Beresford has the full forecast:

7:04 pm, Tue 26 Mar 2013 Big freeze 'for another month'

Chinooks help reach stranded farmers

They are normally used to supply and support the military, but today RAF Chinooks took to the skies to ferry food to animals stranded in the snow.

The helicopters dropped their emergency supplies across rural parts of Northern Ireland hardest hit by blizzards.

ITV News reporter Marc Mallet watched the Chinooks on their mission of mercy:

6:27 pm, Tue 26 Mar 2013 Big freeze 'for another month'

Volunteers check on those still without power

Thousands of people in rural communities face a fourth day without power as engineers continue to battle against wintry conditions to reconnect homes.

A list of addresses in Campbeltown, Scotland is checked as communities face a fourth day without power Credit: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The isle of Arran and parts of the south-west mainland of Scotland were particularly badly hit by power cuts on Friday. At the peak of the problems around 18,000 homes were cut off from the grid.

Lambs found 'frozen to the ground' under the snow

Heavy snow is causing the "heartbreaking" deaths of lambs trapped in blizzard conditions, a farmer warned today.

Gareth Wyn Jones, who has 3,500 sheep at his farm in Llanfairfechan, Conwy, North Wales, said he and his sheepdog have rescued 70 ewes over the last three days.

Gareth Wyn Jones pulls out a pregnant sheep that was trapped for four days beneath snow Credit: Dave Thompson/PA Wire

"With the massive snowfall and winds, it's just been horrendous."

The sheep are trapped under the drifts, some of which are 15ft in some places. We've dug 70 out in the last three days."Some lambs have been born frozen to the ground. It's heartbreaking."

Gallery: Sheep rescued after four days buried in snow

Sheep can survive for weeks in the snow if necessary, especially in groups, as the immediate snow around them would melt and they would resort to eating each other's wool.

However, once they are rescued they tend not to survive for long after.

Gareth Wyn Jones looks at his sheepdog, Cap, after the dog picked up the scent of a sheep that had been trapped for four days beneath snow Credit: Dave Thompson/PA Wire

Mr Wyn Jones was full of praise for his seven-year-old sheepdog Eryri Cap, who he said was responsible for every rescue they had performed.

"Without him we would never have found any of the sheep we rescued."

3:49 pm, Tue 26 Mar 2013 Big freeze 'for another month'

Sheep rescued after four days buried in snow

Gareth Wyn Jones and his sheepdog, Cap with one of the rescued ewes Credit: Dave Thompson/PA Wire

Despite being buried in snow for up to four days farmer, Gareth Wyn Jones rescued pregnant sheep on his farm in Llanfairfechan, North Wales after his sheepdog, Cap found them under the drifts.