Warning: Yellow
To expect: Snow and ice
Affected areas: East Midlands, North West England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands
Start time estimate: Sunday 3pm
End time estimate: Monday noon
The Met Office has announced a Yellow snow and ice warning for East Midlands, North West England, South West England, Wales and West Midlands across the UK for Sunday and Monday.
The warning is covering parts of East Midlands, North West England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands. All local areas affected are listed below.
The regions should prepare for substantial snow flurries, starting on Sunday at around 3pm and lasting until noon on Monday.
The Yellow warning for snow and ice was issued at 10:31am on Friday, January 2.
A Met Office forecast said: “Snow showers are expected to push further inland across Wales, parts of northwest England, the West Midlands and southwest England during Sunday evening. Along windward coasts, rain and sleet is more likely, but inland showers will fall as snow. Whilst not all locations in the warning areas will see snow, around 1-3 cm is expected to fall in many places by Monday morning, with the potential for 5-8 cm to build up in a few locations, particularly across inland and higher parts of Wales. Icy patches are likely to form widely.”
What to expect
Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services; Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces; Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.
What should you do?
Snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous. Keep yourself and others safe by planning your route, giving yourself extra time for your journey. Check for road closures or delays to public transport and amend plans if necessary. Keep yourself and your family safe when it is icy. Plan to leave the house at least five minutes earlier than normal. Not needing to rush, reduces your risk of accidents, slips, and falls. If you need to make a journey on foot, try to use pavements along main roads which are likely to be less slippery. Similarly, if cycling, try and stick to main roads which are more likely to have been treated. Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary. If driving, make sure you have some essentials in your car in the event of any delays (e.g., warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger). Be prepared for weather warnings to change: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area. For further details see Met Office Warnings & Advice.
Full list of local regions affected
East Midlands
Derbyshire
North West England
Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Greater Manchester
South West England
Cornwall, Devon, Somerset
Wales
Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Wrexham
West Midlands
Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin
What is a yellow weather warning?
The Met Office has three categories of weather warning, depending on the likely impact of severe weather and also how likely it is to strike in a particular area.
A yellow warning is issued when weather conditions are expected to disrupt travel and traffic and may impact on daily routines but are not likely to pose a risk to life or property.
An amber warning is more severe and advises people to think about changing their plans to minimise the risk.
A red warning means weather conditions are expected to be dangerous with widespread damage to property and a risk to life, with the public usually advised to avoid travelling.
The Yellow weather alert for snow and ice will remain in place until noon on Monday.