SERVICES in Comet country have been severely affected by the snow and cold weather, and the big freeze is showing no sign of letting up soon.

Today (Monday) is one of the coldest days of the year so far, with temperatures in Hertfordshire not expected to rise above -5�c.

Last night, a temperature of -11�c was recorded by met observer Richard Barker, the lowest temperature since he began records nearly forty years ago.

It is also the lowest temperature he recorded in any month since 1987. Although there is no more snow expected until later in the week, temperatures are not expected to rise above zero.

Richard said: “The next day or two, there is not much wind so it will stay cold. This is really exceptional, even for this time of year.”

Travel across the area has been affected by the snow and frosty conditions, with First Capital Connect trains reporting that there are severe delays and cancellations to many of their services.

There have also been signal problems in Finsbury Park which is causing delays, sometimes more than 30 minutes, in Stevenage, Hitchin, Letchworth GC and Arlesey.

The problems continue on the roads too, and Herts County Council have issued a warning that conditions are icy and that salt is less effective at the very low temperatures that have been seen.

This has caused traffic congestion on many roads, with the A1(M) between junction 8 and junction 7 in Stevenage seeing severe delays and slow moving traffic.

Arriva Bus Service has reported long delays to buses in Stevenage and North Herts, and Stagecoach Buses have said that there are delays to their services in Central Bedfordshire.