Nearly the whole of the UK is subject to a yellow weather warning for snow as weather boffins urged people to be wary of conditions that may lead to a chance of injuries
Yellow weather warnings are in place for the UK as experts warn of snow and ice affecting nearly the whole country.
Over the coming weekend, a yellow warning for snow and ice impacts areas in southwest England, Wales, the Midlands and the north of England. The warning is in place from 12pm on Saturday, January 4 until 23:59pm the following day.
The Met Office said there is a “small chance that power cuts will occur” while mobile phone coverage may also be affected. Other potential impacts include a “slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off”, a “slight chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces” and a “chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers”.
Rail and air travel may also be impacted as snow, up to 30-40cm in some areas in Wales, affects the country.
“Outbreaks of rain spreading progressively northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank,” the Met Office said. “Whilst there is some uncertainty, any snow in southern and eastern parts of England, especially at low levels, will probably be rather transient before turning back to rain.
“However, some significant accumulations of snow are possible across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England in particular, at least for a time, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30cm over high ground of mid and north Wales and potentially 30-40 cm over parts of the Pennines. This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.”
The experts continued: “In addition, as milder air moves northwards, snow may turn to a spell of freezing rain for a time, again more especially across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England, adding to the risk of ice and leading to some treacherous conditions in places.”
The full list of affected areas is as follows:
- 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 and southeast 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
- Northeast England: Darlington; Durham; Gateshead; Hartlepool; Middlesbrough; Newcastle upon Tyne; North Tyneside; Northumberland; Redcar and Cleveland; South Tyneside; Stockton-on-Tees; Sunderland
- Northwest England: Blackburn with Darwen; Blackpool; Cheshire East; Cheshire West and Chester; Cumbria; Greater Manchester; Halton; Lancashire; Merseyside; Warrington
- South West England: Bath and North East Somerset; Bristol; Devon; Dorset; Gloucestershire; North Somerset; Somerset; South Gloucestershire; Swindon; Wiltshire
- 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; Kingston upon Hull; North East Lincolnshire; North Lincolnshire; North Yorkshire; South Yorkshire; West Yorkshire; York
Further weather warnings are also in place this week, including a yellow weather warning for snow and ice in northwest England, Scotland and Northern Ireland tomorrow. Northeast Scotland also has a snow and ice warning.
A yellow warning for snow also remains in place for Scotland for most of the country on Monday, January 6.
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