Hampshire schools closure: Schools close amid weather warnings for snow and cold temperatures

The Met Office has warned of disruption due to snow and said: “A weather system may push snow into some southern counties of England on Wednesday, which could then prove disruptive.”

It comes as an amber cold weather alert has been extended into the weekend as temperatures remain low across the region.

The alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) in conjunction with the Met Office, came into effect from January 2) and was expected to last until midday on Wednesday, January 8 - however this has now been extended until midday on Sunday, January 12.

The conditions have led to the prospect that some schools across Hampshire may close. Currently only two schools have been confirmed closed today - Oakridge Infant School in Basingstoke and Hordle Primary School in the New Forest. This is due to a burst water pipe and boiler failure.

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Hampshire County Council said on its website: “The decision to close a school is for local management, based on conditions at the school and the health and safety of staff and pupils. If a school has to close, information will also be made available to parents/carers through the school’s normal communications channels.”

You can see if your child’s school is closed here.

No schools have been confirmed as closed in Portsmouth. You can see the latest information on this here.

The government said on its website: “School closures happen because of an emergency like severe weather.”

People have today been warned there is a “small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected”.

The forecaster also said there is a “slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off, most likely in upland areas”.

Temperatures remain around -1C for much of the day with the chance of snow peaking between 2pm - 5pm.

Referring to travel, the Met Office said: “There is a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel.”