The Met Office has updated its yellow weather warning for snow covering large parts of England this weekend. The weather forecaster has now included ice in the alert – but shortened the overall duration of the warning.
The yellow weather warning will still begin at 12pm on Saturday, January 4, however it is set to end at 11.59pm on Sunday, January 5. Snow and ice has been forecasted for much of England, including the West Midlands, and the entirety of Wales.
The Met Office has said the Midlands region could experience at least 5cm of snow, which could “accumulate fairly widely”. The forecaster has said the wintry conditions could cause travel disruption on the roads and rail, a small chance of power cuts, a small chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces and a small chance that rural communities could become cut off.
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The Met Office warned: “There is a chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel.” Meanwhile, the small risk of power cuts could lead to mobile phone coverage becoming affected.
A spokesperson for the forecaster said: “Some significant accumulations of snow are possible across parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England in particular, at least for a time, where 5 cm or more could accumulate fairly widely.” The spokesperson 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 Met Office has predicted cold temperatures
(Image: Met Office)
“A fairly rapid thaw of lying snow is possible later on Sunday, although exactly how far north the rapid thaw will reach remains uncertain at this stage.” Met Office weather maps showed the temperature on Saturday morning hovering around freezing.
Some parts of the West Midlands will experience 0C, while in others, it will range from 1C to -1C.