Winter is here: Temperatures drop below freezing and widespread frost and mist expected

The mercury could drop to as low as -2C on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing with it the prospect of snow in rural parts of the UK

Snowed under: A man walks past snow covered cars in Bath

It seems winter has finally arrived, with temperatures in some parts of the UK dropping to below freezing.

And it's set to get worse, for as the week progresses, forecasters expect the mercury to plunge even lower.

Widespread frost and mist is expected and there is even a chance that snow could dust some parts of the country.

The colder weather follows what is thought to be the third warmest autumn on record, with average temperatures of 10.8C (51.4 F).

The lowest temperature recorded in the early hours of Saturday was -1.3C (30F) in Aviemore, Scotland.

According to the Met Office, temperatures could dip as low as -2C (28F) in rural parts of the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The first snow of the winter could well arrive in Scotland with drizzle, fog and breezes expected in many parts of the country over the next few days.

Met Office forecaster Calum MacColl told the Daily Telegraph: "We'll see some mist and fog developing across central and south eastern England where it'll be a dull, dull start tomorrow.

"Some fog may linger while further north it brightens up later.

"The colder weather won't show its hand until Monday, pushing south eastwards increasing the risk of frost.

"The weekend will be warmer than average for the time of year but temperatures will start to drop towards the December average of 6C from Monday."

Heavy snow last hit the UK in January 2013.

It led to flights being grounded and caused havoc on the roads and railways too.

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It's official: Pigs CANNOT fly! Woman's 'emotional support' pet defecated in the aisle and was squealing wildly before it was escorted off US Airways flight

An unruly pig and its owner were escorted from a US Airways flight after it began defecating on the floor and squealing uncontrollably, a passenger has told Mail Online.

Rob Phelps was travelling from Hartford, Connecticut, to Washington's Reagan Airport for Thanksgiving on Wednesday morning when he saw the animal being led into the cabin on a leash. 

The 65-year-old described how the 80-pound pig was screaming 'three times louder than a child' as its female companion coaxed it down the aisle with her feet because it struggled to move on its own. 

'It was ridiculous,' he said. 'It started to smell and flight attendants told her to clean the mess up.'

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Ordeal: A passenger has described how a pig that was escorted from a US Airways flight was defecating everywhere and squealing uncontrollably, forcing flight attendants to escort its owner off the plane 

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Interaction: Rob Phelps, 63, described how the woman was talking to the pig like a human during the ordeal, calling it a 'jerk' for not behaving. He added that the pig weighed around 80 pounds 

Mr Phelps from Havenville, Western Massachusetts, who was with his wife at the time, said after five or ten minutes a number of passengers began to complain as the pig got more and more distressed.

He added that during the encounter the woman was talking to the animal like a human being, calling it a 'jerk' for not behaving.

She had been allowed to take it onto the plane for 'emotional support', based on guidelines released by the Department for Transportation.  

Staff realized it wasn't going to work, so the animal and passenger were led out of the cabin.

Mr Phelps said that they did not encounter the pig until they boarded the plane, saying everything was normal.

Describing the moment passengers saw the creature, he said: 'There was instant silence. There was a mixture of controllable laughter and shock. You couldn't write this.

'I have seen dogs and cats in cages on a plane - but never a pig.

'This was not a small pig. When she held it over her shoulder it reached her waist.

'I don't even know how it got through. You have the TSA and intense security and yet it still was let on board.' 

Mr Phelps said that the pig was the only thing the rest of the travelers spoke about the rest of the flight, and he was still laughing about it when he sat down for his turkey on Thursday. 

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American Airlines, the parent company of US Airways, said the woman had the pig as an emotional support animal - which is allowed under Department for Transportation guidelines 

In 2012 it was revealed that the Department of Transportation had certain guidelines allowing animals, including pot-bellied pigs, could be taken on flights.

Along with monkeys and miniature horses, they could be designated as 'Emotional Support'. 

Transportation officers would have to determine whether the animal is permitted on the plane by running through a list of guidelines. 

Pigs are favored service animals for people allergic to dogs. Guidelines suggest they are intelligent companions and attuned to dangerous situations. 

American Airlines, the parent company of US Airways, said the woman had the pig as an emotional support animal and was asked to leave the plane after it became disruptive. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2853779/EXCLUSIVE-little-piggy-plane-Woman-s-emotional-support-pig-defecated-aisles-squealing-uncontrollably-escorted-Airways-flight-passenger-reveals.html#ixzz3KcJq50ug
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

 

Bank says sorry after it hands out £160 in fake bank notes - to a policeman

Det Con Dominic Doyle, 37, was “humiliated” after a relative tried to use some of the £160 in counterfeit money

Conned: Dominic and wife Lucy

A policeman has blasted HSBC after getting £160 in dud notes from his branch.

Det Con Dominic Doyle, 37, was “humiliated” after a relative tried to use them.

He and his wife Lucy, who withdrew thousands of pounds from their life savings at HSBC, say they were "humiliated" because they unwittingly gave some of the money to relatives.

The couple, from East Grinstead, took out the cash from their local HSBC branch.

They planned to use some to begin work on their home and give more of it to their young nephews.

It wasn't until Lucy's sister tried to use some of the money that she was told the notes were phoney.

Lucy, 33, a nutritionist, said: "My sister called me crying and distressed saying that she had used a couple of notes to pay a bill in the Metro Bank and they called out that it was fraudulent in front of everybody.

"As soon as we realised what happened we took the money to the branch in Croydon where my sister lives.

"The assistant said it was unlikely any of it was counterfeit and that the notes were probably just damaged."

Detective Dominic had to excuse himself from a court case to go back to HSBC while each of the notes was counted individually.

The bank confirmed that £160 of the notes were fake and that an investigation would be launched.

But the couple say they have not been received an explanation/

The notes were changed and Mr Doyle, of East Grinstead, West Sussex, has been offered £100 compensation.

HSBC said: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience.

Galpin-Fisker Rocket puts a 725-hp Mustang in a tailored suit

"Coachbuilt muscle car" really isn't a thing. If you have enough money to want a full custom body on your vehicle, you're likely thinking of something expensive and European. Muscle-car customizers generally work with a lower budget (and still impressive results.) Today, Los Angeles dealer-tuner Galpin Motor Sports unveiled its unique venture into that uncharted space with a car it's calling the Rocket, penned by the man behind the Fisker Karma.

The Galpin-Fisker Rocket starts with a 2015 Ford Mustang GT massaged to 725 hp, then draped in a hand-built, carbon-fiber skin designed by Henrik Fisker. The founder of the failed, eponymous automaker, Fisker had previously penned coachbuilt variants of BMWs, and approached Galpin in August with the design of the Rocket.

Michelin Putting Tweel Airless Tire Into Production

Combining a tire and wheel into a single airless 'tweel' has proven to be a popular concept, although it still hasn't gone mainstream. Michelin is the latest company to announce a production tweel, but not for any automotive applications—just yet.

It will open a dedicated tweel-producing factory in Piedmont, South Carolina, this week. However these airless tires will be used on skid-steer loaders and certain models of John Deere lawnmower, not cars.

MUST SEE: 2016 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Packs New V-8, Serious Track Upgrades: Video

Michelin's design uses a steel center hub that bolts on just like a conventional wheel. The spokes are poly-resin and can deform around obstacles, but there's still an outer tread like on conventional tires that can be made in different patterns for different applications. Since there's nothing to inflate, there's also no possibility of getting a flat.

That—along with the potential weight savings of combining tire and wheel—has led to plenty of tweel experimentation since Michelin introduced the concept in 2005. Both Bridgestone and Hankook have demonstrated their own airless-tire concepts. Hankook has also claimed NVH improvements because of the shock-absorbing qualities of its design.

If you want to get your hands on a set of tweels, but don't operate a loader or lawnmower for a living, Polaris also offers them on its Sportsman WV850 H.O. ATV, a military-inspired off-road vehicle that really puts this technology to the test.

Michelin's airless tyres could mean the end of punctures

Michelin's Tweels combine the tyre and the wheel into one unit that can't get a puncture

Michelin is opening a factory that will focus on making airless tyres that don’t get punctures.

The $50 million plant will be used to make the 'Tweels', which bring together the tyre and the wheel into a single solid unit.

Tweels have a moulded-treat rubber band like conventional tyres mounted on a metal hub in the centre. Between the tread and the metal hub are flexible spokes which can deform under pressure.

But there's no pneumatic element to the these wheels, meaning an end to flat tyres. This means no maintenance and no downtime.

At the moment these Tweels are being developed for commercial vehicles involved in agriculture, construction and refuse and recycling - but further development could bring the technology into the passenger vehicle space.

The Tweel was first introduced back in 2005, but this marks the first commitment to mass producing them for commercial vehicles. They do still need replacing with wear, but nowhere nearly as quickly as pneumatic tyres.

There are other airless tyres on the market including some completely solid rubber ones, but Michelin says that it’s version doesn't lead to diminished traction and handling.

 

When pigs fly? Not on this US Airways plane

(Photo: SAM YEH, AFP/Getty Images)

  

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) — This was a pig that truly could not fly.

The pig was ordered off a U.S. Airways plane at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut on Wednesday after crewmembers determined the animal had become disruptive.

Laura Masvidal, a spokeswoman for U.S. Airways parent American Airlines, said Friday the pig was brought aboard by a passenger as an emotional support animal.

She said both the pig and its owner left the aircraft before it took off.

Jonathan Skolnik, a University of Massachusetts professor who was also a passenger, told ABC News that the pig — which he estimated to weigh about 50-70 pounds, was on a leash but began walking back and forth.

Masdival says under federal guidelines emotional support animals are allowed on commercial flights as long as they're not disruptive.