The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a rare amber cold weather health alert for Lancashire and the rest of England ahead of a week of low temperatures.
The 144-hour alert has been issued comes into effect at 12pm on Thursday (January 2) and lasts until 12pm on Wednesday (January 8). A rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, is likely, the UKHSA said.
It comes as a week of bracing temperatures are forecast with lows of -7C in Lancashire overnight today. They expect the freezing conditions will have “severe impacts across health and social care services”.
Those aged 65 and over, and those with pre-existing health conditions, are most at risk as the freezing conditions could lead to a “rise in deaths”. Health services and transport are also likely to feel the pressure as the weather is set to cause travel chaos and a surge in admissions.
The alerts have been issued for the North West, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands, Yorkshire and The Humber, the east of England, London, the South East and the South West. The Met Office has issued a new yellow weather warning for ice from 5pm today until 10am on Friday (January 3).
The amber alert cover the whole of England
It covers central and eastern parts of Lancashire and forecasters say the icy surfaces could lead to difficult travel conditions. The warning states: “Scattered wintry showers will be replaced by a longer spell of rain and sleet for a time on Thursday night, particularly across western Scotland and Northern Ireland. As temperatures dip below freezing, this will lead to a risk of ice formation on untreated surfaces, especially inland.”
Meanwhile, a two-day yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued for this weekend covering the whole of the county. It begins at 12pm on Saturday and lasts until 11.59pm on Sunday.
The Met Office said: “Heavy snow, and some freezing rain in places, may cause some disruption over the weekend.”
A snow and ice warning is in place this weekend
It added: “Outbreaks of rain spreading progressively northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank. Whilst there is some uncertainty, any snow in southern and eastern parts of England, especially at low levels, will probably be rather transient before turning back to rain.
“However, 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, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of mid and north Wales and potentially 30-40 cm over parts of the Pennines. This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.
“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. 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 meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “”At the moment we’ve issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday but it doesn’t mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow, it’s just a heads-up there could be some impacts.”
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