Snow and ice are set to cause disruption over the next few days as the Met Office issues yellow warnings.
Image source, PA MediaMore snow is set to fall across the UK this weekend, bringing further travel disruption in already icy conditions.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice in the majority of Scotland, Wales, and much of England for Sunday.
Heavy snow is causing major problems on the roads and for air travel in central Scotland, with some schools shut.
But the cold snap is due to end as milder air and rain move in later on Sunday.
The Met Office’s Ellie Wilson said there could be 8cm of snow in Wales and 15cm in the north of Scotland over the weekend.
“Because of the current cold conditions that we’ve seen, any of that snowfall will be falling onto cold frozen surfaces so there is a risk of ice here…”
The Met Office’s weather warnings include yellow alerts for:
- Snow and ice in central Scotland until 21:00 GMT on Friday
- A new alert for ice in central Scotland from 21:00 on Friday until 11:00 on Saturday
- Snow and ice for nearly all of Scotland, north-east and north-west England, and Wales from 03:00 to 21:00 on Sunday
- An alert for ice in the Midlands, London and southern parts of England from 03:00 to 11:00 on Sunday
But Ms Wilson added that snow would be followed by some rain on Sunday afternoon.
“A band of rain and snow is going to be moving north-eastwards across the country through Sunday.
“It’s bringing milder air behind it, but that milder air bumps into the cold air that’s where we’re seeing where the snow is likely to fall.”
She went on to say the warmer air would end the recent wintry conditions “for the time being”.
BBC forecaster Nick Miller also warned of difficult travel conditions before the rain starts to thaw the ice.
He said: “A change to milder weather will begin on Sunday but as that process takes place many places will see a spell of snow before it turns to rain.
“Temperatures will continue to rise on Sunday night and on Monday, highs of 10 to 15C across the UK can be expected.”
Image source, PA Media
Severe weather in recent days has already led to serious disruption and damage.
Engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution have been working to restore power to about 2,400 properties which remain off supply in Voe, Brae, Yell and the West Mainland on Shetland following extreme conditions across Scotland.
The Scottish government declared a major incident on Tuesday after thousands of homes lost power in Shetland when heavy snow brought down electricity lines.
Traffic Scotland said on Friday morning that snow was affecting major trunk roads, and advised people to drive with care.
Glasgow Airport’s runway was also closed until 11:30 while it was cleared of snow and ice. Some flights have been severely delayed or cancelled.
And some schools were closed in the Highlands, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Aberdeenshire, Orkney and Perth and Kinross.
The adverse weather conditions on the roads and railways come as rail strike action also takes place across many parts.
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