The Met Office has upgraded its weather warning for Lancashire this weekend, with an amber warning for ‘heavy snow’ now set to come into force.
Up to 40cm of snow are expected to fall in higher areas and forecasters say the snow will be ‘persistent and heavy at times’. The warning takes effect at 9pm on Saturday (January 4) and lasts until 11.59pm on Sunday (January 5), bringing hazardous travel conditions and possible power cuts.
It comes after the Met Office earlier today (January 3) issued a separate weather warning for ice covering the whole of Lancashire. A yellow alert will come into force at 4pm and last until 10am tomorrow.
Temperatures are again set to plummet below freezing overnight – just days after the region was hit by heavy downpours and flooding. The ice warning covers the whole North West, Scotland and parts of North Wales – with people urged to take care on icy surfaces.
The amber snow warning states: “Snow will reach the south of the warning area later Saturday, then spread north across the rest of the area through Sunday morning. Snow will be persistent and heavy at times, and will likely drift in brisk easterly winds, especially over higher ground.
“Much of the warning area can expect 3-7 cm of snow. Areas above about 150 m will likely see 15-30 cm, with 40 cm for ground above 300 m, before snow begins to ease and clear by the end of Sunday. For some lower-lying areas, such as the Vale of York, snow may mix with rain at times making estimations of snow depths here more difficult.
“Regardless, travel will likely be difficult, with power line icing an additional impact.”
The Met Office warning for ice reads: “Temperatures will again fall widely below freezing during Friday evening. This will allow ice to readily form on untreated surfaces, particularly where roads and pavements remain wet from wintry showers.
“Scattered showers will fall as a mixture of rain, sleet and snow. Most areas are unlikely to see any fresh accumulations of snow though a slight covering is possible in places, especially over parts of northern Scotland.”
Snow flurries are forecast for Lancashire from late on Saturday night through to the early hours of Sunday morning. Snow is expected to be followed by sleet and rain later on.
Lancashire is forecast for highs of 5C and lows of 1C today, followed by highs of 4C and lows of 2C on Saturday. The UK Health Security Agency issued an amber cold weather alert for the North West yesterday, lasting until January 8.
It means health and social care services are likely to be in extra demand due to the cold weather, while more people than usual could be at risk of losing their lives.
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