Drivers have been warned to avoid a stretch of the M5 motorway in the West Midlands this weekend as snow hits. The warning comes from National Highways, which operates and maintains major A roads and motorways across the country, as they issued a list of roads where snowfall may lead to a ‘significant risk’ to vehicles.
The government-owned company has issued an amber severe weather alert for seven areas across the country and issued a list of roads to avoid as they advise travel in these areas is likely to be disrupted. The regions affected are: North East, North West, East, East Midlands, West Midlands, South East, South West.
The warning is in place from 3pm on January 4 to midnight on January 5 and drivers have been warned to stay away from junctions 2-4 of the M5 during that time. The area could see between five to 10cm of snow, National Highways has warned.
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Other roads in the West Midlands which drivers have been advised to avoid are listed below.
A spokesman for National Highways said: “A spell of disruptive snow is going to spread north-eastwards across southern and central parts of the network on Saturday evening. It seems though that the snow will only settle above 150m elevation or so, leading to negligible (<1cm) accumulations at low levels but 2-5cm on any modest hills and perhaps up to 10cm in some spot locations.
“The snow will last several (6-7) hours but will eventually turn back to rain, initiating a thaw. However, it is worth noting that the rain may initially fall on to frozen ground and lead to ice in places. High ground is more at risk of this, such as the Cotswolds and the Peak District.
“With mild air becoming widely established in southern and central parts through the course of Sunday, a rapid thawing will take place. In the north however, the snow will arrive later but will tend to stall and decay in-situ through the reminder of Sunday, leading to greater accumulations. Again, the snow will only settle on roads above 100m elevation and will tend to become confined to higher ground over time but the trans-Pennine routes will be hit badly, with as much as 10-20cm, perhaps 25cm, over the highest parts of the network (A66 Old Spittal, M62 Windy Hill, A628 Woodhead Pass).
“The snow will become light and patchy during the afternoon and through the evening, not adding much in terms of accumulation however, there will not be much thawing either and any lying snow will likely stay there for quite a few days.”