hello, this is breakfast, with naga munchetty and christian fraser. temperatures plunge as low as —6 overnight, as the "mini beast from the east" bites. icy conditions are causing problems for drivers — and there are weather warnings in place across the breadth of the uk. amber warnings are still in place gci’oss amber warnings are still in place across england and wales. some have already seen it 5—7 centimetres and more is due. join me in 15 minutes for your full forecast. good morning, it's sunday the 18th of march. also this morning — a top russian diplomat insists russia had "nothing to do" with the poisoning of a former spy in salisbury — and suggests britain could have been responsible. beautiful buildings and mega—fast broadband —

we'll find out why york has been named as the best place to live in britain. in sport, ireland celebrate st patrick's day in style. as victory over england at twickenham gives them the grand slam. nearly night and bred wild one bronze as slalom champions. good morning. first, our main story. snow and ice has gripped much of the uk, as a cold snap dubbed the "mini beast from the east" sweeps in from siberia. the met office has put amber warnings in place, and they are expected to last all day today in south—west england and south wales. sarah ransome is in devon for us. we will be live in some of the worst affected areas throughout the programme. people living in ten chalets "perilously close" to the edge of cliffs on the norfolk coast have been told to leave their homes

because of strong winds and high waves. earlier, norfolk police said that six of the properties at hemsby had a very good chance of going into the sea. in 2013, tidal storms saw three homes in the village washed away. kent police have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after several people were injured when a car was driven into a busy nightclub in gravesend. police say the incident at blake's nightclub is not been being treated as terror—related. footage posted on social media appears to show a car inside a marquee at the nightclub, as officers led people to safety. the russian ambassador to the eu, vladimir chizhov, has suggested that the uk's own research laboratory in wiltshire could be the source of the nerve agent used in the poisoning of a former russian spy in salisbury. the foreign office has called the russian account absolute nonsense. here's our diplomatic correspondent, james robbins. two weeks at the chemical attack on

sergei and yulia skripal, ambassador vladimir chizhov said there were no stockpiles whatsoever of nerve agents stockpiles whatsoever of nerve a g e nts left stockpiles whatsoever of nerve agents left in russia but then in an interview with andrew marr, he went a bit further. asked how the chemical weapon came to be used in salisbury, vladimir chizhov suggested lipsett when you have nerve agent, you check it against certain samples that you retain in your laboratories. putin now is the largest military —— it is the largest military —— it is the largest military —— it is the largest military facility in the uk which has been dealing with chemical weapons research. it is actually only eight miles from salisbury. you are not suggesting that we are is responsible... i don't know, i don't know. i don't have any evidence. as britain continues to investigate the chemical attack, the foreign office dismissed this latest russian attack is absolute nonsense with not an

ounce of truth in it. a spokesperson said it's just another futile attempt from the russian state to divert the story a way from the fa ct, divert the story a way from the fact, that russia has acted in flag ra nt fact, that russia has acted in flagrant breach of its international obligations. the foreign secretary has described russia's closure of the british counsel and consulate in st petersburg as "futile". writing in the sun on sunday, boris johnson says the move will punish ordinary russians by depriving them of opportunities to learn english. the move was part of russia's response to sanctions by the british government, in the wake of the poisoning in salisbury. a group of mps says that the government should consider the possibility of delaying when we leave the eu, if complex issues remain unresolved. the exiting the eu committee says more time should be allowed if a detailed and comprehensive agreement on the future relationship isn't settled by october. the brexit committee's view isn't unanimous though — a minority report by eight members

warns that a long transition would be difficult. it might be freezing here — but take a look at these incredible pictures. spring has definitely sprung in the southwest of china — and has created this sea of flowers. visitors from across the country have travelled to see these extraordinary cherry blossoms. the bugs are coming and going. it will warm up later in the week. —— let's take a look at this morning's papers. there was a big report saying 1000 goals had been groomed. the assistant chief constable says that

there were measures put in place, of course, disputed by some former officers. looking at the mail on sunday. the prime minister's war on putin. what it is saying and it is referring to the television series. it is targeting dirty money as it sees the kremlin expelled 23 uk diplomats and describes the first escalation. a whistleblower has revealed how the details of 50 million facebook users were harvested illegally. there was a media campaign that was targeted and

it may have influenced the 2016 election in america. i watched the by election in america. i watched the rugby yesterday, congratulations to ireland. that is magnanimous because charlie was really keen... to be honest, after about 15 minutes, i thought the writing was on the wall. was there a ridiculous gap in the first ten minutes in terms of scoreline? yeah, well, we were a long way behind. that is what i meant. i wasn't saying it in a very nice way. here is the duchess of cambridge wearing green, splendid. witness shamrock on as well. she is enjoying the st patrick's day parade in west london. —— with a first —— with a shamrock. blackout threat to britain as putin hits back. the bosses of britain's key power companies to boost their security.

fears of a russian cyber attack as these escalation of words increases. similar front these escalation of words increases. similarfront page these escalation of words increases. similar front page and the telegraph. this is interesting. i'm off to brussels for the eu summit and the whole talk next week will be about the transition and whether it will be open—ended. this is interesting because they are saying that the gibraltar might not be covered by the transitional. it could be part of the round next week. debate here as well about how long they should be extended. it is eight minutes past six. snow and ice has gripped much of the uk. the cold snap dubbed the mini beast from the east has swept in from siberia. the met office has put amber warnings in place and they are expected to last all day today. in a moment we will speak to sarah walton in yorkshire

but first, let's go to sarah who is in holden hill in devon. and amber warning and amberwarning in and amber warning in place for much of the day? yes and just when you thought it was all over, think again. a real case of that. i am on holden hill. we are very close to the arterial road into devon. a few weeks ago, a number of drivers, when the snow came, found themselves stranded on this hill. it has happened in previous years and since then, emergency plans have been put into place and yesterday when the amber zone warning came into force, some of the tractor ploughs and some of the kit behind me were positioned up of the kit behind me were positioned up here on hold and held just in case they were needed to try and help in that situation. that is all being controlled at the bottom of the hill. qayyara at the top, higher

up, so we have the hill. qayyara at the top, higher up, so we have more snow. the hill. qayyara at the top, higher up, so we have more show. “— the hill. qayyara at the top, higher up, so we have more snow. —— we are at the top. parts of somerset have been worst affected. very steep hill has been closed in the last half an hour or so this morning. the greeters have been out repeatedly overnight, and just before dawn, they were out salting the road wet tons of salt have an —— has been trying to keep the roads safe. if you don't have to travel in this pa rt you don't have to travel in this part of the world, please don't. the amber warning will be active all day. it is part of a three tier system and it is the second warning in the range of alert and they say, please don't go out unless you have absolutely got to. when you get to

cornwall, the fire service varies saying please stay away from the coastal areas because high winds and the prospect of more snow, about 25 centimetres, coming in later, could be difficult. busy day for those things behind you. ican i can see behind you that the roads gritted. we have had eroded gritted but this is on the edge of the road. —— roads gritted. we have seen a

snow lying deep over high ground but mostly snow lying deep over high ground but m ostly o n snow lying deep over high ground but mostly on the low level, you have a thin layer of snow which has now frozen overnight. the highways agency are warning people to take ca re if agency are warning people to take care if you need to make the journey. lincolnshire police are asking people to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary. they have had incidents overnight. none of the roads are cross erbil unless you have a a—wheel of the roads are cross erbil unless you have a 4—wheel drive. the roads over high ground a particularly dangerous. —— cross erbil. network rail say if you are hoping to travel by train, check with the website. we have more than 100 flights out of heathrow which have been cancelled because the planes had to have ice

removed. if you are one of the people having to leave the house today, to take care. as sarah said, check with the website ahead of travelling by train because it is not clear which services will or will not be running. lots of destruction at heathrow. —— disruption. do you like york? well, i am not saying no! york has been named the best place to live in britain by the sunday times. it's the first time the city has topped the list, which is published each year. let's have a look at some of the reasons it did so well. i think the place is more exciting than the music. yes, i think that is not the best groovy music. than the music. yes, i think that is not the best groovy musiclj

than the music. yes, i think that is not the best groovy music. i have memories of partying there in my university days. i did enjoy that are very much. we would love to hear about where you live, and whether it should have made the list. you can email us all posted on our facebook page. i'm not sure i did my street cred very much good. if you are using the phrase street cred, certainly not. let's find out about this morning's weather. we would never use the phrase street cred, would we? you have made me giggle, naga. not much showing of the street here, and on a much more serious note, as beautiful as york is, we have lots of snow issues across yorkshire and lincolnshire. there are stillamber yorkshire and lincolnshire. there are still amber warnings in force from the met office here and other parts of england and wales as well. it really is treacherous. i drove to work this morning and it is treacherous. many places across

nottinghamshire, lincolnshire, example, have seen 5— ten centimetres of snow. you can see we are getting the worst of the snow clearing from eastern areas but it is heading west, snowing heavily in the likes of dorset and somerset. this amber warning will the ineffective well into this evening. hopefully for yorkshire and parts of the midlands, the worst will be easing as we go through this morning. we still have that it wins. as you saw on the rainfall chart, or the snowfall chart in this case, it is still bringing in those snow showers. it looks as though it will continue to be really nasty. lots of snow falling across wales, dorset, somerset. it is slow—moving but will mount up quite quickly. it is lolling around in that wind, and of course, to enable the grit to work you need traffic on top of it as well, but it is not great out of air. -- well, but it is not great out of air. —— out there. the central lowla nds air. —— out there. the central lowlands are still having some showers. county antrim and county

down prone to snow showers. for scotland and northern ireland should be an improving picture, not because it will be getting warmer but because we are cutting off that easterly flow through the day. that snow is very close to the south of northern ireland. further east, we might see a little bit of brighter weather materialising, but it is still bitterly cold. temperatures obviously only 1— two celsius but feeling colder in the wind. this evening and overnight, we will begin to lose the threat of snow. another cold night, with hard and penetrating frost. so it will ice over. is will be a big concern as we go into tomorrow morning's rush—hour. —— ice. and easterly flow in southern areas, and one of two when she flurries around. the big story is that on monday it will be much drier and brighter, slightly less cold, but icy, for the morning

rush, and again in the evening. temperatures more respectable but still well below where they should be for this time of year. a very wintry picture at the moment but temperatures are recovering as we go towards the middle part of next week, as you can see. towards the middle part of next week, as you can see. just a reminder, we do have that amber warning in force. it is absolutely awful out and about ulster —— out and about. and we will be back with a news summery at 6:30 a.m.. right now, it is time for the film review. hello, and welcome to the film review on bbc news. to take us through this week's cinema releases is jason solomons. good to see you, jason. what have you been watching? this week, we'll go to raiding and cliffhanging with the new lara croft in tomb raider. —— tomb raiding.

look at the meaning of art and find our inner ape in swedish satire the square. and we dip into biblical times for the real story of mary magdalen, as played by rooney mara, opposite joaquin phoenix as jesus. what a mixture! tomb raider is back. did they need to remake this? well, it wasn't very good the first time! often they do remakes of things that are really good and you think, ‘why have they ruined it'? but they may be trying to get this right, because angelina jolie's lara croft has dated terribly — the effects are bad and it was never quite right. tomb raider was sort of a teenage fever dream for many boys who used to play that as a game when it was early computer games, and they've now changed the whole figure of lara croft for this new actress, who i happen to think is fantastic. she's beautiful, gorgeous,

and she has got this strength to her and she's balletic, which she needs, because she has done a lot of running in this movie. she is slumming it in shoreditch when we start this, but then we find out she is the daughter of a billionaire, who is played in a flashback. she has to go and sign the papers which means that she will inherit his fortune. that was dad's? yes, miss croft. according to his will, i was supposed to give it to you. and, technically speaking, you are meant to sign the papers first. i could never understand your father's obsession with those things. i can't believe how many of those were lying around the house. there's got to be some purpose to it. the first letter from my final destination. "the first letter from my

final destination." but he didn't leave a letter. well, they've got all the great british actors in there as well. they've lined them all up! they are only in it for a bit, i have to say — for the money, i think! she goes off on her quest — this is a quest movie. she goes hunting with clues that her father has left her. these riddles, which you might start off solving them yourself in your head — but don't bother, because they don't make any sense, really! it's just another level of the game that she goes to. she goes to hong kong, and then she is pursued,

which is all very good, then she has to go to a remote japanese island on a ship, and survive a storm, going down a waterfall and solving another puzzle. she does a lot ofjumping and then she does a lot of dangling. laughter. you know, it's a bit krypton factor! considering the indignities heaped upon her and ridiculous scenarios thrown at her, i was mesmerised by how brilliant she is at this. she brings a balletic strength to it. she's got great abs, fantastic skills with a bow and arrow, and she's far, far better than the film she is in. i wondered whether you were getting to that. she is great, but is it worth seeing apart from her? it's very kinetic, the best i can say for it is it keeps hurling stuff at poor alicia vikander. but the climatic tomb raid is almost laughable — it looks like something that you get on the back of the cereal packet! it's like, is that what this

has all been about?! maybe there will be more tomb raiders and maybe they will get them better! they will keep trying. i'm loving the sound of the next one, it sounds intriguing. it won the palm d'or at cannes, and has taken a year to get here, but it was nominated as best foreign—language film at the baftas. much of it was not in swedish. elisabeth moss is in this. it features one of the great scenes of the year, which we are seeing here. an american actor comes in as an artist. it is an art world satire. this is an art gallery benefit dinner. he comes in to do a performance piece, but takes it far too far. here he is kind of goading dominic west. it's about finding art in that era.

it's a satire on the art world. art that can be dated, what's the point of art, is it ridiculous? this is about modern art. it's about the curator of this gallery that we're seeing here. he loses his mobile phone, and his life completely falls apart and unravels. it really is a sort of film predicated on that. is that in the category of ‘first—world problems?'! it is very much about white male privilege and what it is to be a man in the privileged world. like, here they are in their black ties, and he is an artist. this scene goes on for 11 minutes, and you can't stop watching. it's extraordinary, but you don't go how to react to it. it's all about, what would you do in that situation? it keeps throwing moral quandaries at you. it's very funny, but also very thought—provoking, perhaps a bit too thought—provoking, like the monkey poking dominic west in the ear. you have been to see mary magdalen as well. it's easter coming up,

time for a passion story. this is reported to tell for the first time the story of mary magdalen, who has been cast as a prostitute since pope gregory in 591 declared that she was a prostitute, which is apparently wrong — she wasn't. this film aims to correct that and show the jesus story through the eyes of the only female disciple, mary magdalen, played by rooney mara, who leaves her fishing village and follows the son of god. mary. each of you stand at the threshold. do you fear that you will never reach the kingdom?

whose kingdom? herod's? you know as well as i do, there's only one true kingdom. and that is god. and god's kingdom has taken root. so we must prepare. we must wash away the stains of your corruption. and be born anew. like children. i have been hidden for too long. i'm not sure what to say about that! you can see why her father would be upset if she went to follow him, this kind of hairy bloke who's really boring! whatever you think about the bible, there's no denying it's got some great lines in it. why this film hasn't got any of them is a mystery to me. it is extraordinarily dull.

is it a long couple of hours? absolutely so dull you would not believe it! it even looks dull, it has got this tablecloth fashion with the stones everywhere in the desert. at one stage it was the greatest story ever told, when it was in hollywood, now it's just the most boring story ever told. it's extraordinary what it does, trying to rectify it and make it a story for a new age, kind of a story for everyone — it won't offend catholics, christians, jews, muslims or even atheists. is it trying to be too careful, is that part of the problem? it is trying to tiptoe over any heresy. people boycotted martin scorcese's film. any film that makes you cry for mel gibson has got it wrong! it also makes you think of monty python all the time! there are scenes when people are going, ‘messiah, messiah‘! you know what, he's not the messiah! i do wish you'd say what you really think, jason!

so that's a long two hours, and we'll leave it at that! i don't think this will make a lot of money at the box office, either. i think faith—based audiences will go and be completely mystified as to what this was about. it is a passion of the christ without any passion. what should we be going to see? you've got to see black panther. and you've got to see it now at the cinema. it is becoming a cultural event — people are seeing it four or five times, it has broken records at the box office, it is changing the way that audiences are going, black audiences are flocking to it, families are enjoying the representation. it is a great superhero movie, it's sexy, it's exciting, it's funny. people are hollering at it in the cinema. if you haven't been to a marvel movie in the cinema, this is the one to go and see. and dvd of the week

is also so lovely. i will admit, i cried at paddington 2! but it's a delight, it's an absolute sweet, delightful, charming, sometimes silly, butjust lovely, lovely, lovely. beautifully done... he is in his little outfits, wondering around. paddington didn't win best british film at the baftas, that went to three billboards. this is one of the best british films we've ever made. and how good is hugh grant?! he's fantastic! he is. and sally hawkins is great in it, the whole brown family, the whole look of it is perfect. it's a work of genius, paddington 2. and when did you cry?! i cried at the end! i'm not going to give anything away for anyone who hasn't been to see it. if you want a marmalade sandwich, you can't have one! it's very sweet, wonderful. a mixed week, but an interesting one. jason, good to see you, thank you.

that's it for this week. enjoy your cinema—going and your dvd watching. it's terrific, honestly! thanks for being with us. goodbye. good morning, here's a summary of today's main stories from bbc news. parts of the uk have been gripped with snow and ice, as the "mini beast from the east" has swept in from siberia. met office amber warnings of a possible risk to life are in place in south—west england, south—east and mid—wales and the west midlands all day, where five to ten cm of snow is forecast to fall widely. there's also travel disruption and drivers are being warned to take care in the dangerous conditions. sarah walton is in east yorkshire for us this morning. what road is behind you? this is the

a63in what road is behind you? this is the a 63 in east yorkshire at ellerton and it is moving pretty well it has been gritted but in some places it is down to one lane. it is still icy. we have had flurries of snow overnight and a thin layer of snow in the high winds and the cold temperatures has now frozen. we think conditions will be easing throughout the day. still, people are being asked to take care by the highways agency. people are being asked to stay off the roads com pletely u nless asked to stay off the roads completely unless you have a 4x4. places over the pennines are dangerous and they are getting reports of ice on roads even if they have been gritted. disruption on the

trains, too. no trains running between manchester and york. there we re between manchester and york. there were supposed to be coaches but because of the bad weather, the coaches aren't web —— running either. we had about 97 flights out of heathrow cancelled because of the weather and that is because the planes had to be de—iced. you may need to check with your airline before you travel. if you are one of those people that needs to travel today, give yourself extra time and ta ke today, give yourself extra time and take care on the roads. people living in ten chalets which are "perilously close" to the edge of cliffs on the norfolk coast have been told to leave their homes because of strong winds and high waves. earlier, norfolk police said that

six of the properties at hemsby had a very good chance of going into the sea. in 2013, tidal storms saw three homes in the village washed away. kent police have arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after several people were injured when a car was driven into a busy nightclub in gravesend. police say the incident at blake's nightclub is not been being treated as terror—related. footage posted on social media appears to show a car inside a marquee at the nightclub, as officers led people to safety. the russian ambassador to the eu has told the bbc that russia had nothing to do with the poisoning of a former spy and his daughter in salisbury, suggesting instead britain could have been responsible. speaking to andrew marr, vladimir chizhov said one of the uk's own research laboratories could be the source of the nerve agent used in the attempted murder of sergei and yulia skripal. the foreign office has called the russian account absolute nonsense. meanwhile, the foreign secretary has described russia's closure of the british counsel and consulate in st petersburg as "futile". writing in the sun on sunday, boris johnson says the move will punish ordinary russians by depriving them of opportunities to learn english.

the move was part of russia's response to sanctions by the british government, in the wake of the poisoning in salisbury. a group of mps says that the government should consider the possibility of delaying when we leave the eu, if complex issues remain unresolved. the exiting the eu committee says more time should be allowed if a detailed and comprehensive agreement on the future relationship isn't settled by october. the brexit committee's view isn't unanimous though — a minority report by eight members warns that a long transition would be difficult. swimming club any australian city of perth has asked to help find its mascot. this is daphne duck. the last time she was seen with 270 miles north of perth. she was moving

too quickly for them to hold on. it's the little bits of plastic in the ocean we can't see, not big giant yellow ducks. if you see it, let us know. kat's here with the sport. good morning. we have fantastic news to bring you. you found daphne duck! and that our skiers are celebrating. menna fitzpatrick and jen kehoe. they have been so close but so far for the rest of the game. two silvers and a bronze. they have been beaten at every turn by these pesky slovakian. farkasova has one format golds. the brits have eaten her to it. we will be speaking to our

reporter live there at the morning. —— live at later in the morning. it was the perfect end to ireland's six nations campaign, as they beat england 2a points to 15 at twickenham to win their third grand slam on st patrick's day. joe wilson was watching for us. they came to twickenham and never looked like losing. but how good ireland were. from the moment the ball was hoisted into the sky, ireland was on top. anthony watson was there but not there. gary ring rose's has provided the pressure for ireland. the final stretch delivered the ball to the foot of the post. touched. england got a try back but by half—time they were further behind because ireland won the kick. they kicked and dashed and touched down before the line. his seventh try of the tournament. eddiejones‘ unbeaten run at twickenham was over.

ireland's day, ireland's year. well, with these players are celebrating behind me from ireland, some of them experienced, some of them less so. it is easy to forget that ireland has lost some of their greatest ever players in recent years. no problem. a special day for everyone involved. to come to top it off, it is a tough place to go. many of these irish grand slam players will be there in yea rs grand slam players will be there in years to come. there were also final day wins for scotland over italy and and wales over france. so this is how the final table looks. ireland are champions, wales finish second. england supporters may want to look away — they sit only above italy in fifth. manchester united have made it

through to the semi—finals of the fa cup, beating brighton 2—0 at old trafford. romelu lukaku struck the first, and nemanja matic hit the second — in what has been a difficult week forjose mourinho, who didn't hold back in criticising his players...even though they‘ re through to the last four.. when the sun is shining, it is easy to play football. do you know what i mean? when you win matches and everything goes in your direction, even myself, i can play when the sun is shining but when it's dark and when you are under pressure, only the top ones can do it and today, we didn't have many top ones. christian eriksen stole the show at the liberty stadium as tottenham also eased into the semi—finals with a comfortable 3—0 win over swa nsea. the dane scored in each half, with erik lamela providing the other goal. liverpool's mohamed salah has been making headlines all season long for his outstanding performances, but perhaps this was his best yet. he scored four goals as liverpool ran riot against watford, winning 5—0.

roberto firmino scored the other, assited by salah, who now takes his goal tally to 28 in the premier league, four clear of spurs' harry kane. liverpool leapfrog tottenham into third place. it wasn't a good day for rock—bottom west brom. bournemouth scored late on to win 2—1. it's albion's seventh straight premier league defeat, and heaps more pressure on manager alan pardew. there were also wins for crystal palace and everton. in the scottish premiership, hearts beat partick thistle 3—0. all three goals came in the first half, with kyle lafferty opening the scoring for the home side. partick are now three points from safety, while the win solidifies hearts grip on sixth place. aberdeen beat dundee 1—0 at pittodrie. there was something of a shock at ibrox as second placed rangers went down 1—0 to kilmarnock. ross county and hamilton drew 2—all. we have had this brilliant success

at, ourfirst gold medal in we have had this brilliant success at, our first gold medal in the games and our second lets go live to our reporter kate grey who's in pyeongchang for us this morning: they have finally done it after silver and bronze, we have only got a gold. huge celebrations for great britain. they saved the best till last and have one to medals on the final day of action here in pyeongchang. it was gold for menna fitzpatrick and her guide jen pyeongchang. it was gold for menna fitzpatrick and her guidejen kehoe. this time in the slalom which means they have one format medals in these games and come the most successful british pa ralympians. games and come the most successful british paralympians. menna fitzpatrick is only 19 years old. this time, it was in the slalom and they won second position. they then had a final run and as they crossed the line, they set an unbeatable time, even for the slovakian henrieta farkasova who has been

dominating this category throughout these games. it was britain who was victorious this time around. a huge celebrations at the bottom of the slopes as you can imagine. family and friends all around. a great day for great written and another bronze means great britain has won seven medals. —— great britain. they now look forward to the closing ceremony. lots more to come. i really miss being out there. it has been 18 degrees over there. —26 was the coldest i experienced. that was the coldest i experienced. that was pretty chilly. yes. we have dame

catherine grainger coming in to talk about how well they have done. it is coming up to 18 minutes to seven. if you're yet to venture out this morning, you may find snow on your doorstep. the freezing temperatures from siberia have returned in what's being dubbed the "mini beast from the east". yesterday snow showers swept across most of the uk, with winds of up to 70 miles per hour making it feel bitterly cold. and there's more to come today. we're joined now by meteorologist and weather presenter, simon king. it has been an extraordinary few weeks. we have gone from —11 or 12 in the wind chill to balmy spring days. what is happening? that is the fascination of the weather in the uk. i love it so much. we are ireland and we are surrounded by

water. it is the atlantic ocean to the west. —— we are islands. the weather in the uk is determined by which direction the wind is coming from. if you have south—westerly wind, the prevailing wind direction. the one most spoken about. absolutely. the normal, typical, average temperatures. last week. temperatures of 12, 16. in easterly wind, cold airfrom russia. it can be very cold. it is also picking up moisture from the sea. you have very cold dry aircoming moisture from the sea. you have very cold dry air coming from siberia. all the way across europe and as it hits the north sea, it picks up moisture and you get a snow showers piling in from the north sea mainly hitting parts of the uk in the east. with the strong winds, the snow showers are drifting further west.

many of us saw them yesterday. what is surprising for many of us is we expect the northern part of the country to be cold and be hit with snow in winter. the fact it is now the middle of march and we are talking about devon. and the weather warnings across the country, the breadth of the country, that is what is surprising many of us. it isjust the nature of how cold the weather is. if it thinks are the typical winter, it has been mild and u nsettled, winter, it has been mild and unsettled, some strong winds. and west. there has been a bit of snow but it has been on a knife edge. —— and wet. when it does slow, it wants to but it's not quite there. now we have this easterly wind, this cold air, over the whole of the uk, it is air, over the whole of the uk, it is a bleak block of ice. any precipitation and moisture will produce snow. —— big block of ice.

that is why absolutely everywhere is susceptible to heavy snow. added how long it will take to explain this but how is it that the south—westerly winds suddenly switch to the eastern winds? what happens to the eastern winds? what happens to the eastern winds? what happens to the atmosphere? we have had a sudden stratospheric warming and polar vortex disruption. that effectively means we have cold air which is normally locked up over the poles being disrupt that. that allows cold air to filter down. this stratospheric warming means we have increasingly easterly winds. so when you have this event, you can often get bouts of these easterly winds coming in from siberia. if you get down to the pub today, ijust want to make sure, and you are talking about that polar vortex disruption, and that stratospheric warming...m is easierfor you to

and that stratospheric warming...m is easier for you to say! we will talk to you later. we have got pictures coming in on social media. we will talk you later. thank you. we will talk you later. thank you. we would like to know how the weather looks where you are. you can send us a picture by emailing us, or share your thoughts in our viewers on our facebook page. and twitter as well. let's talk to have, we were talking to simon about the bigger picture, but we will talk to helen. how is that polar vortex disruption looking in terms of, i don't know, east anglia? it is quite stratospheric. this is actually south wales. as simon said, it is penetrating far west, that cold easterly wind. it results in high pressure over scandinavia, sinking south, allowing that cold air to come east. a retrog ressive that cold air to come east. a retrogressive pattern, if you like. it isa

retrogressive pattern, if you like. it is a short lived scenario. we will start cutting off that cold air as we go through tonight and tomorrow. as simon said it is bitterly cold, right across the country this morning. there are still amber warnings in force from the met office. these will link wish theirgrip, the met office. these will link wish their grip, these showers across the east, quite quickly. the west is where we will see some of the worst snowfall through today. we have already seen it in the east, all thoseissues already seen it in the east, all those issues across yorkshire, lincolnshire and the south—east. lots of the focus for today's bad weather is across the midlands and westwood. wales and the south—west of england will get clobbered by more snow. it is snowing quite heavily right now, absolutely treacherous on the roads. this snow is lolling around in those strong to gale force winds, so visibility is really poor as well. —— blowing around. it is icy as well, compacting that snow, which helps the grit and salt work on the roads,

but with temperatures below freezing it will remain very hazardous. we may see that creep ticket to yanchep and county down, still a peppering of snow showers in central and eastern is golden. —— eastern scotland. take a breath, the idea is that we should see these showers becoming less frequent than they we re becoming less frequent than they were yesterday. for the south and the west it might take much of the day for that snow to clear. clearly we are going to see that snow piling up,10— we are going to see that snow piling up, 10— 20 centimetres over the hills. and it is cold. very little to choose between today and yesterday, windy in the north but bitter if you are out and about. through the evening and overnight, a su btle through the evening and overnight, a subtle change in the wind direction in the north. not a particularly warm wind direction, but cutting off that really cold siberian air. another cold night, another hard frost. penetrating frost in the south, given the strength of the

wind. few showers as that high pressure starts to cut off the source of moisture and that cold out. hopefully most of us tomorrow will see fewer showers, a bit more sunshine, slightly higher temperatures than we have had this weekend, but nothing like spring. only 5—7 at rest. i will keep you posted on that snow through the rest of the morning. when we come back, can you tell us where the coldest place in the uk is today? everywhere? yes, i suppose thatis today? everywhere? yes, i suppose that is the right answer. we'll be back with the headlines at 7:00. now it's time for the travel show. coming up on this week's travel show: i dress up and hit the road here in japan. we are going through the most fashionable part of tokyo and i am dressed as a fat plumber. lucy gets the lowdown on travelling without too much plastic. cheers!

we are starting this week injapan, the home of video gaming. it is hard to believe that it's a full a0 years since the space invaders game was invented here and recently, tokyo's celebrated that anniversary of a special exhibition and giant video wall, where today's generation of gamers can test their retro skills. but space invaders isn't the only iconic game to have been created here in japan. tucked away in the backstreets of sibuya, just five minutes from the famous crossing, i have come to find a guided tour with a difference. i guess the best way to describe what i am about to experience is a self—drive videogame simulation with some sightseeing thrown in. welcome to maricar, nice to meet you!

this brings back memories from my childhood. yoshi, luigi and mario. it has got to be mario. how do i look? i feel like michelin mario. we have the key that starts the engine. maricar have been running these go—kart tours have been run, taking in the many tourist attractions for several years now and to take part you firstly to show your id and drivers licence from your home country. then there is a compulsory safety briefing. when driving, always one straight line guys, ok? always one straight line. if the tour guide does one, it means it you just stop in one straight line. 0k? if the tour guide does two.

you simply come up behind, same lane, always the same lane, side by side. see the two go—karts behind me back there? they are side—by—side and nice and close, that is the stopping formation we want to see when the tour guide does two. it's going to look like this. two, four, six. is it possible to stall it? it is impossible. it is automatic. at the beginning the engine can be a bit cold so before we depart it might cut out, you just start it again. there is lots to think about, like how to drive the car for a start and i feel exposed being so low, then i have to think about formations? oh my gosh. i'm not the best driver, you know, right now this costume is the least of my worries. i have got my foot on the brake. where is the key? john, where is the key? laughter.

this is ridiculous! oh my god. even though it is a sunday morning and the traffic is lighter, it takes a while to get used to driving a vehicle that feels so low and exposed. slightly vulnerable, but i think i am getting the hang of driving this car now. oh my gosh. do you see how close i came to a taxi? we are going through the most fashionable part of tokyo and i am dressed as a fat plumber. little chance of anyone wanting to copy my outfit here in harajuku, but nintendo are reportedly unhappy with their trademark super mario dungarees and cap being used by the tours. there has been talk of legal action, but the subtle name change from mario kart to maricar and the inclusion of other characters seems to be keeping the lawyers at bay. we are coming up to the crossing.

oh my goodness. oh my gosh, i can't believe we are going through shibuya crossing! although some of tokyo's taxidrivers say that they can be disruptive and dangerous. johnny tells me that he has supervised over 200 tours without any serious accidents. but several cab drivers we met still had concerns. last year, a record number of almost 29 million people came to japan and as tokyo gears up to host the olympic games in two years time, the authorities are keen to see the maricar tours continue, but they are looking into how safe they are. new regulations now mean that modifications will have to be made to the go—karts and it is hoped that repositioning tail lights and better

back and head protection and mudguards will provide safety for other drivers and road users and pedestrians. tokyo is such a hotbed of trends and innovation and as the birthplace of video games, it would be a shame to see an end to these tours. let's hope the new safety regulations will help keep them on the road here. that was so much fun! i really had a good time. once i started to relax and got used to driving this car it was crazy, i can't believe they let you drive this on the streets of tokyo. i really felt like i was in a video game most of the time. it was crazy and i was so close to cars, so low down. it was really fun and i felt like a celebrity, everyone was waving at you, it was a great way to see the city.

we have been hearing alot in the news lately about sustainability — from coffee cup recycling schemes to carrier bags, but being green when you travel can be tricky. disposable water bottles like this are easy to fill at home without a second thought, but what if you are in a new and unfamiliar city? where do you go to get clean and free water? some places around the world are trying to tackle the issue by providing more drinking water with the hope of cutting down on single use bottles thrown away. but if you are travelling internationally it is worth firing up the wetap app, that provides a map of nearby drinking fountains to keep you hydrated on the move. i really like the fact that it is community—based, so if you stubble across a drinking fountain that isn't identified, you simply tap this button here and add it to the platform. in london, a network of drinking points is being rolled out in summer.

here in borough market, new fountains are already up and running and rather than a single—use disposable bottle, i have got this to try out. the hidrate spark bottle connects to an app on your phone via bluetooth. once you are connected, a sensor is able to detect how much water you are drinking. you can set daily goals based on information based on the information you tell and it will glow to give you a gentle reminder when it is time to hydrate. however, in orderfor it to keep tabs on how much you are drinking it needs to be placed on a flat surface every time you take a swig. great if you are at a desk all day, not so much if you are at the gym or on the move.

i like that you can tell it where you are in the world, if you are in a hot country it will increase the amount of times it tells you to drink. it is notjust cutting down on plastic bottles that will reduce your carbon footprint. i popped in to see andrew to talk about some friendly apps for my next trip. one i would recommend if you are starting is going on green globe, it has hotels, resorts and attractions that are eco—friendly. it's a pretty extensive list, tap on jamaica. to be injamaica right now! you can see there is a list of all of the different ones here. quite a lot of resorts. quite a lot of different resorts, you tap on the ones you are interested in and you tap on it and also what it does to help the environment. the next one is olio. i have heard a lot about this app. it is supercool, it is great if you are travelling or not. it is all about reducing food waste. and so it means that you can give away food that you don't need, but also get food that people are giving away. if you are planning a trip and you look in your fridge and you are like a have got a carton of milk and a fruit bowl of fruit

and it will go to waste. put it on the app and somebody will collect it. the last one i would recommend is spinlister, think of it as aianb but for bikes in your local area that you can hire. i have searched los angeles and you search your local area and find what is available and so there are road bikes, mountain bikes, they do surf gear, ski gear, all sorts of stuff. so it usually works out less than around $20 a day and it is much cheaper than getting taxis everywhere and you are eco— friendly because you are riding a bike. and finally, if you can't start the day without a caffeine fix even while away on holiday, then the pakito cup could help. reusable coffee cups are nothing new and some offer a discount if you bring your own. that it can be annoying carrying those around. what is great about the pakito is it swishes down really small and extends to three different sizes. it is a little fiddly to pull out, but once fully extended you've got a full—sized cup. regular americano, please. cheers! hello, this is breakfast,

with christian fraser and naga munchetty. temperatures plunge as low as minus 6 overnight as the "mini beast from the east" bites. icy conditions are causing problems for drivers and there are weather warnings in place across the breadth of the uk.