Good news for half-term holidays: snow will clear for 'getaway Saturday'

PA

Half-term holidaymakers may now breathe a sigh of relief: the latest weather forecast is that the snow that threatened to cause travel chaos this weekend is set to ease off.

Weather forecasters have predicted that Britain will face a fresh bout of snow tonight (Friday), but that by the weekend, warmer air is expected to move in, meaning it will have cleared up enough to keep public transport running reasonably smoothly.

In a press statement this morning, Heathrow Airport's owner BAA said: "A light fall of snow overnight was cleared by Heathrow's snow team with no disruption to the airport... A normal schedule is planned for Friday with no anticipated disruption. After clearing snow overnight, airside teams took the opportunity to carry out two practice drills. Heathrow continues to monitor the weather and will respond if mor adverse conditions are expected."

According to the Telegraph, around 90,000 people are expected to fly on Saturday alone.

Airports are currently on alert for freezing rain - rain that freezes on impact with cold objects like planes - which is reportedly the most dangerous weather threat to aircrafts.

The Express reports that Britain is set to receive up to eight inches of snow tonight, and that temperatures could fall to -15C in some places.

But as it is thought that there will be some respite at the weekend, there is hope for holidaymakers that Heathrow won't end up cancelling half of its flights, as they were forced to do when six inches of snow hit last weekend.

Met Office spokesman Dan Williams told Aol Travel: "We're not expecting any significant snow over the weekend. There's a slight risk we may see 1cm in parts of the south east on Saturday night, but that's it.

"Obviously with the ice risk and low overnight temperatures, particularly in the south east, we'd advise people to take particular care on the roads and keep up to date with the latest weather forecasts and warnings."

Travel chaos was widespread, with celebrities even taking to Twitter to complain about the lack of salt gritting. Gabby Logan wrote: "London, you forgot to grit the roads – no salt anywhere!"

Met Office forecaster Sarah Holland told the Telegraph: "Over the weekend, we're gradually going to see some milder air trickling through down to the south of the country. This snow isn't here to last for long but the cold conditions remain."

Fingers crossed for a smooth getaway...

Still haven't booked your half-term holiday? Check out these great short breaks around the UK:

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