Heavy snowfall forecast for three days across Britain
Much of the UK could see up to three days of snow as temperatures drop across the country.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow across England and Wales and parts of Scotland this weekend, with snowy conditions forecast to continue into Monday.
This means rural communities are at risk of being cut off, with school closures and power cuts, as well as widespread travel disruption.
Winter is set to bring high winds and heavy rain across much of the UK, causing widespread flooding in the north-west of England.
The snow warning starts at noon on Saturday and lasts until 09:00 GMT on Monday and covers all of England except the south west, most of Wales and parts of southern Scotland.
Around 5 cm of snowfall is expected in the Midlands, Wales and northern England over the weekend, while higher ground in Wales and the Pennines is expected to see 20-30 cm of snowfall. Some drifts may also be possible with strong winds.
Parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland may also see some damaging snowfall. Any snow is likely to change back to rain as a temporarily light breeze arrives in southern England.
Temperatures will start to drop on Wednesday night, with parts of the country warned of freezing conditions on Thursday morning and some snowfall in Scotland.
As arctic air reaches all areas of the UK by Thursday, a mix of sunshine and wintry rain will give way to widespread snowfall over the weekend, leading to even more bitter temperatures.
BBC Weather lead presenter Ben Rich warned that snowfall is extremely difficult to predict, and warnings are likely to change over time as confidence in the data behind it increases.
“A slight change in temperature or low pressure could mean that an area may get rain or sleet instead of snowfall,” he said.
The warnings come after many Britons saw their New Year celebrations accompanied by heavy rain and widespread flooding, including in Greater Manchester. Where a major event was announced on New Year’s Day,
Locations affected include Bolton, Didsbury, South Manchester, Harpurhey, North Manchester, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan.
In Cheshire, the banks of the Bridgewater Canal collapsed and water gushed into surrounding fields at Little Bollington, causing road closures and properties being evacuated.
Nearly 90mm of rain has fallen widely across northwest England in the past 24 hours, with more than 100mm recorded over some hills in North Wales and Cumbria.
And in London, the New Year’s Parade was slightly delayed due to high winds and brief torrential rain in the capital.
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