A three-day snow warning has been issued for the whole of Lancashire this weekend.
A yellow warning is in place from noon on Saturday (January 4) until 9am on Monday (January 6) and covers all regions of England other than the South West, the majority of Wales and parts of southern Scotland. The Met Office has warned rural communities could become cut off while schools could potentially be closed.
There is also a chance of power cuts and road closures as well as delays and cancellations to flights and trains. About 5cm of snow is expected widely across northern England, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and/or the Pennines, the forecaster added.
The warning states: “Outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank. Whilst there is a fair bit of uncertainty as to how far north this may spread, and how long any snow will last, significant accumulations of snow are possible, especially (but not exclusively) on hills.
“Currently, parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England are most at risk of disruption, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of Wales and/or the Pennines. This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.
The Met Office has issued a three-day yellow alert for snow
“In addition, as milder air attempts to move northwards into southern and central areas, snow may turn to a spell of freezing rain for a time, adding to the risk of ice. If milder air is able to spread more bodily northwards, any snow in southern parts of the warning area may be relatively short-lived before turning to rain.
“Given the uncertainties, it is quite likely this warning area and start/end times will be refined over the coming days as confidence increases in areas most likely to be impacted.”
It comes as strong winds and heavy rain have been battering the UK, with homes and roads across Lancashire flooded and dozens of flood warnings and alerts in place. Meanwhile, a separate 18-hour yellow weather warning for ice comes into effect at 4pm today (January 1) and covers the whole of Lancashire with temperatures expected to plummet to lows of -7C overnight.
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