UK weather forecast: Six inches of snow to fall after ‘coldest night of the year’

Patrick Grafton-Green28 December 2017

Up to six inches of snow could fall in parts of the country after temperatures plummet below freezing on what is expected to be the coldest night of the year.

A severe amber weather warning has been issued across part of northern England with heavy snowfall likely, according to forecasters.

Meanwhile a yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place in Northern Ireland and for snow across a swathe of Scotland.

The adverse weather is likely to cause significant travel disruption on the roads and railways, as well as at airports, the Met Office said.

UK snow in pictures: Travel disruption as Britain hit with flurries

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It will come after temperatures plummet below freezing across the country, and could reach as low as -13C on Thursday night.

Met forecaster Craig Snell told the Standard: “For many overnight it is a cold one, it could fall as low as double figures below freezing across parts of Scotland.

“A band of rain moving across many parts of the country will bump into cold air in some areas and turn into snow.

“There are a couple of snow warnings in place. Two yellow, for Northern Ireland and Scotland down into Lincolnshire and Derbyshire.

“An amber warning is in place in Yorkshire, along the M62 corridor, where we could see as much as 15cm of snow.

“The snow will generally peter out but it will take most of the day to do so travel on roads and trains and from airports is likely to be significantly impacted.”

The amber warning is in place from 4am until 11am on Friday, while the yellow warnings are both in place from the early hours.

The snow will not affect southern parts of the UK, however a yellow weather warning is in place for a swathe of south-east England, including London.

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Mr Snell added: “Temperatures are already falling away and are likely to fall below freezing in the capital.

“In the city it will be around -1C and in the outskirts it could drop as low as -3 or -4C.

“A few showers may also move across overnight as well which could lead to ice forming so there could be some slippery surfaces.

“Tomorrow temperatures will be on the up, a band of rain will move through with temperatures of about 9C – we’re looking at mild, wet weather.

“As we head into 2018 we are looking at a generally milder trend.”

The yellow weather warning is in place from 3pm on Thursday though to midday on Friday.

The Met Office said temperatures reached as low as -6C on Wednesday night across parts of northern Ireland, while much of the UK was between -1C and 1C.

Brits already faced travel disruption earlier this week as Stansted and Luton airports saw flights delayed and cancelled on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, figures from Western Power Distribution (WPD) and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) showed nearly 13,000 homes were without electricity on Wednesday afternoon.

The latest snowfall to blanket the UK came just a fortnight after hundreds of schools were closed, homes were left without power, and travellers were stranded or forced to stay indoors when a cold snap hit the UK.

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