UK weather – Up to 1 FOOT of snow to blanket UK as flood warnings issued with icy blast to batter Britain
UP to one foot of snow is set to fall tonight with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warnings for Wales and the South West Midlands.
Over 80 flood warnings have been issued across the UK with an icy blast set to batter Britain in the coming days.
Read our UK weather live blog for the very latest news and forecasts.
In Wales, the West Midlands, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire, up to 30cms of heavy snow is expected to fall this weekend.
Small flurries could hit London and parts of south-east England tonight, the Met Office said.
Some rural communities could become cut off in the heavy snow, with some disruptions to power and mobile phone coverage also likely.
According to the Met Office, the cold snap is caused by “dense pool of cold air” from Scandinavia.
Brits in the South West of England can expect heavy rain tonight, with a yellow weather warning for torrential rain in place from 8pm this evening.
Forecasters say some rural communities could become “cut off” due to the downpours.
Ice is also predicted to begin forming in the North East and Scotland from this afternoon, causing “difficult driving conditions”.
Forecasters claimed 15-25mm of rain could fall widely, with 40-50mm possible across Dartmoor and near to the south coast.
The Environment Agency had 69 flood warnings in place across England on Friday evening meaning immediate action is required, and 231 alerts, meaning flooding is possible.
Today 83 flood warnings are in place for England with the Environment Agency asking people to take immediate action to protect homes and businesses.
Jason Kelly, Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said that another new weather front tomorrow would bring rain and snow east and north across the UK.
He added: “The most significant event in the forecast is a feature from late Monday evening, which threatens to bring rainfall across a swathe of the UK from the south and west.”
“In the colder air to the north of this system the rainfall will readily turn to snow or even freezing rain, affecting a large part of England and Wales north of the M4 corridor.”
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for 9pm on Monday until midnight on Wednesday – with 1-4cm of snowfall expected in hard-hit areas.
There are already three yellow warnings in place today for ice, snow, and rain – as Brits are battered by all winter weather extremities.
Monday will bring heavy snowfall from Newcastle to Reading – cutting off rural communities and causing wide-scale traffic disruption.
Parts of Essex, Cambridgeshire and York have already been battling major flooding – with roads cut off as nearby rivers burst their banks.
In eastern and central Scotland, as well as eastern England, there is an ice warning in place – bringing difficult driving conditions, icy patches, and freezing temperatures.
The warning, which stretches across large swathes of Wales, the South East, the Midlands and the North, adds that up to 10cm of white stuff could accumulate on higher ground above 150m.
The Met Office said: “The risk of freezing rain will be an additional threat across parts of eastern Wales and the west and south Midlands.
“Snow should turn back to rain lasting longest across parts of northern England.”
Wintry showers will also spread inland from the North Sea to eastern areas overnight.
Tonight a further band of rain – linked to Storm Justine – will affect southern England and South Wales bringing downpours.
And looking forward to next week – the snow and ice weather warning is in place from Monday night until Wednesday night.
The cold blast will hit with temperatures potentially dipping as low as -7C.
The Met Office said: “Snow, with a risk of widespread ice, is likely to push slowly northeast from late Monday, bringing difficult travel conditions.
“As well as snow, a period of freezing rain is possible for parts of east Wales and the West and South Midlands.
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“Snow should turn back to rain from the south, lasting longest across parts of northern England.”
Some communities are still dealing with the effects of Storm Christoph – which brought “danger to life” flooding to Yorkshire, Manchester, and Wales earlier this month.
The Met Office issued an amber warning for snow as the country experienced heavy rain and ice.
