LONDON — Serious flooding swamped parts of England on Tuesday and snow forced three airports to close temporarily as wet and icy weather combined to extend travel chaos that has plagued the U.K. since the start of the year.
Areas of the Midlands in England remained under water and more than 200 flood warnings were issued as waters that overtopped riverbanks continued to inundate villages and drown farmland.
A severe flood warning indicating life-threatening conditions was issued for the River Soar in Leicestershire where several trailer parks sit on low land. Aerial photos showed mobile homes in Barrow Upon Soar surrounded by muddy waters and a car sunken up to its windows.
Several train lines and major roads were also closed because of wet and icy conditions as snow and ice caused disruptions in northern England and Scotland.
Airport runways in Manchester and Liverpool in northwest England, and Aberdeen in northeast Scotland, had to close for part of the morning while crews cleared snow and ice.
On Monday, dozens of people were rescued from flooded homes and stranded cars in the Midlands, and hundreds of schools were closed for the first day of classes of 2025 in northern areas of the U.K.
Much of Britain has been hit by strong winds and periods of precipitation that struck before New Year’s Day and snuffed out several fireworks displays and other celebrations. Several communities have faced significant flooding since the start of the year.
A man whose body was found Monday in a flooded area near the River Aire in northern England was believed to have gone in the water over the weekend, North Yorkshire police said. They were seeking his identification.
Nearly 60 people were rescued from swamped homes and vehicles, the Leicestershire fire service said on X. Emergency workers helped 45 children and three teachers get out of a school in Edenham where they had been stranded, the Lincolnshire Resilience Forum posted on X.
One woman was rescued from a car by a pub owner who waded up to his chest in frigid floodwaters to pull her from the vehicle and carry her to safety.
Cimi Kazazi, the owner of the Italian Greyhound in Great Glen, had arrived at his business in the morning to find it partially under water, Luigi Salcini, the pub’s manager, told The Associated Press.
The woman had tried to drive to her house when her car, covered with a dusting of snow from the night before, got stuck. Eventually the water rose up to the windows.
“She started to drive but realized the car was deeper and she started going down with the water,” Salcini said. “She started to scream, ‘Help’ and we came out and Cimi went to rescue her.”
