A yellow weather warning has been issued
Snow has been forecast (Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
A three-day snow warning has been issued for almost all of England, including Merseyside this weekend. The Met Office issued a fresh weather warning earlier today.
A yellow warning is in place from noon on Saturday until 9am on Monday. Met Office maps show most of the country covered with a yellow weather warning for snow from Saturday through to Monday, January 6.
The Met Office has warned there is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected. Other issues which may be a result of snow include a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut of and travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel.
In a statement, the Met Office 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.”
The weather body have warned that snow may turn to a spell of freezing rain for a time, adding to the risk of ice. They say “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 and end times will be refined over the coming days.