Warning: Yellow
To expect: Snow and ice
Affected area: Multiple, listed below
Start time estimate: Wednesday 10pm
End time estimate: Thursday noon
The Met Office has issued a Yellow snow and ice alert for several regions across the UK until Thursday midday.
The warning is covering parts of Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, North East England, North West England, Orkney and Shetland, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, Strathclyde. All local areas affected are listed below.
Snow will settle over the regions. The snow flurries are anticipated to arrive across the areas on Wednesday at around 10pm, and it will persist until Thursday noon.
The Yellow alert for snow and ice was issued at 10:56am on Wednesday, January 7.
A Met Office forecast said: “Ice will develop fairly widely on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, with partially thawed lying snow refreezing readily. In addition, wintry showers across Orkney and northeast Scotland will slowly clear away to the east, whilst a new band of mainly light rain, sleet and snow will arrive from the west. Snow will fall to low levels at first away from coasts before becoming confined to ground above around 300 metres. 1-2 cm of fresh snow accumulations are possible in places, with 2-5cm of fresh snow accumulations on ground above 200-300 metres, mainly in western Scotland and hills northern England.”
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, so to keep yourself and others safe: 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). Keep yourself and your family safe when it is icy. Plan to leave the house at least five minutes earlier than normal to reduce your risk of accidents, slips, and falls. If making 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. Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: 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
Central, Tayside and Fife
Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Stirling
Grampian
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray
Highlands and Eilean Siar
Eilean Siar, Highland
North East England
Northumberland
North West England
Cumbria
Orkney and Shetland
Orkney Islands
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian Council, Scottish Borders, West Lothian
Strathclyde
Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
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 effect until noon on Thursday.