A three-day snow warning has been issued for almost all of England and parts of Scotland this weekend as the Met Office has warned rural communities could become cut off
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UK weather: Wintry showers in the north on New Year’s Day
The Met Office has issued a huge three-day UK snow warning as temperatures look set to plummet to -10C across the country.
The weather warning has been issued for almost all of England and parts of Scotland this weekend as the Met Office has warned rural communities could become cut off. Wales will also be affected as will parts of southern Scotland.
From Saturday, forecasters warned to expect up to 1ft of snow falling between 12pm on Saturday and 9am on Monday. The whole of Greater London, along with southern Scotland, is covered by the yellow alert. Scotland could see lows of -10C by Friday morning, with London -5C, and -7C in Birmingham and Manchester.
The Met Office said there is a small chance of power cuts and mobile phone coverage being affected, while there could also be delays and cancellations to flights and trains.
The weather forecasters said: “Outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank. Whilst there is a fair bit of uncertainty as to how far north this may spread, and how long any snow will last, significant accumulations of snow are possible, especially (but not exclusively) on hills.
“Currently, parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England are most at risk of disruption, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of Wales and/or the Pennines. This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.
“In addition, as milder air attempts to move northwards into southern and central areas, snow may turn to a spell of freezing rain for a time, adding to the risk of ice. If milder air is able to spread more bodily northwards, any snow in southern parts of the warning area may be relatively short-lived before turning to rain.
“Given the uncertainties, it is quite likely this warning area and start/end times will be refined over the coming days as confidence increases in areas most likely to be impacted.”
The Met Office said the snowy weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous. It offered tips to motorists, adding: “Plan your route, checking for delays and road closures, amending your travel plans if necessary; if driving, leave more time to prepare and check your car before setting off; make sure you have essentials packed in your car in the event of any delays (warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de-icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).
“People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.”
Regions and local authorities affected:
Central, Tayside & Fife
East Midlands
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Leicester
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Rutland
East of England
- Bedford
- Cambridgeshire
- Central Bedfordshire
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Luton
- Norfolk
- Peterborough
- Southend-on-Sea
- Suffolk
- Thurrock
London & South East England
- Bracknell Forest
- Buckinghamshire
- East Sussex
- Greater London
- Hampshire
- Kent
- Medway
- Milton Keynes
- Oxfordshire
- Reading
- Slough
- Surrey
- West Berkshire
- West Sussex
- Windsor and Maidenhead
- Wokingham
North East England
- Darlington
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Stockton-on-Tees
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Halton
- Lancashire
- Merseyside
- Warrington
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
South West England
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bristol
- Devon
- Dorset
- Gloucestershire
- North Somerset
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Swindon
- Wiltshire
Strathclyde
- North Lanarkshire
- South Lanarkshire
Wales
- Blaenau Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Warwickshire
- West Midlands Conurbation
- Worcestershire
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North Lincolnshire
- North Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
- York
