The Met Office has issued a new weather warning for Greater Manchester with the region still reeling from devastating floods. Temperatures have plummeted in the days since downpours hit the region.
Large parts of Greater Manchester were under water on New Year’s Day. Conditions cooled on Thursday (January 2), with a yellow weather warning issued for ice until 10am this morning.
And the Met Office has now issued the same warning again, coming into force at 4pm today (Friday). The ice warning, which lasts until 10am on Saturday, covers the whole North West, Scotland and parts of North Wales – with people urged to take care on icy surfaces.
A Met Office spokesperson said: “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.”
A separate weather warning for snow and ice is also in place for much of England and Wales – including Greater Manchester. The warning comes into force at midday on Saturday and lasts until 11.59pm on Sunday, with up to 40cm of snow expected in the Pennines.
Flurries are forecast for Greater Manchester 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. Manchester is forecast for highs of 5C and lows of 1C today, followed by highs of 3C and lows of 0C on Saturday, before a slightly warmer Sunday with highs of 6C and lows of 1C.
The UK Health Security Agency issued a 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.