Snow is poised to blanket parts of the UK as the Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings in anticipation of a brutal icy blizzard.
A New Year snow blast could be on the horizon, with five regions across Britain set to bear the brunt of the harsh conditions. Snowfall could reach a staggering 11 inches – approximately 30cm – in depth.
Brits have been urged to brace themselves for severe travel chaos as 2026 kicks off, with fierce winds of up to 60mph also forecast later this week, reports the Mirror.
A Met Office prediction stated: “Showers will turn increasingly to snow through Thursday (January 1) as a strong, perhaps locally gale force northerly wind sets in. Initially accumulations will mainly affect higher routes, but by evening some accumulations will start to build even to low levels, with 2 to 5, locally 10cm of lying snow accumulating by Friday (January 2) morning.
(Image: Getty)
“Above 200m some places could see 10-20cm of snow accumulate, and on the highest routes and hills, 30cm or more may build through this period. Given the strength of the wind some significant drifting of snow is likely. Lightning may well be an additional hazard.”
The meteorological service has issued a revised Yellow snow and ice alert for Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Orkney and Shetland and Strathclyde throughout the UK for Thursday and Friday.
The alert encompasses sections of Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Orkney and Shetland, Strathclyde. All affected local districts are detailed below.
Snow showers are forecasted to sweep across the regions, beginning on Thursday at around 6am and continuing until 11pm on Friday.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued the amber alert, and said it means the weather is “likely” to cause significant impacts across health and social care services, including a “rise in deaths” among those with health conditions or aged 65 or over.
Temperatures elsewhere are expected to be 4-6C from New Year’s Day and there is a yellow health alert in place.
The Met Office said the final days of 2025 will not be “particularly fantastic”, with temperatures of 7-8C, but things will take a turn as 2026 arrives.
Northern parts of the country are expected to bear the brunt of the chillier conditions from January 1 onwards, with brisk winds bringing increasingly wintry showers to the north as the week progresses.
Forecaster Dan Stroud said: “We’re losing this sort of settled but chilly conditions, and bringing in something a little bit more showery with more wintry hazards in the forecast, particularly for the north of the country.”
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