UK weather latest: ‘Mini Beast from the East’ to blast Britain with snow and ice as exceptionally cold temperatures loom

Rural communities face being cut off, and travel delays or cancellations are likely, says Met Office

Forecasters have upgraded snow and ice warnings to amber level as Britain prepares for a “mini Beast from the East” over the weekend.

The second-highest level of warning was imposed as the Met Office predicted up to 10cm of snow for parts of the country, with 15cm potentially falling on higher ground.

Rural communities faced being cut off, and travel delays or cancellations were likely as “exceptionally cold” weather swept towards the UK from the continent, the body said.

Helen Roberts, a senior forecaster, told The Independent: “We have a return of the easterly winds that brought the very cold snap earlier in the month.

“It’s looking very notable for this time of the year. It’s exceptionally cold.”

On Saturday, snow showers will hit the North-east and eastern parts of the country, becoming more frequent towards the end of the day.

The amber warning for snow and ice covers the north Midlands and part of Yorkshire, as well as London and areas of the South-east, Ms Roberts said. The warning will be in place from 4pm on Saturday until 9am on Sunday.

Yellow warnings for snow, ice and wind will be in place on Saturday and Sunday for most of the UK, including north Wales, parts of Northern Ireland and a swathe of eastern Scotland.

Of the predicted high winds, Ms Roberts said: “Not only will that make it feel even colder, but some of the snow is likely to be the powdery snow we saw before, and that means it’s going to be drifting around.”

This meant “some temporary blizzard conditions”, the Met Office’s website said.

Meteorologist Martin Bowles said the weekend’s weather could be dubbed a “mini Beast from the East”, but added that “we don’t expect anything like the same impact as a result of it”.

On Sunday, snow may persist in the South-west but the skies will clear with sunshine breaking through elsewhere, Ms Roberts added. It will remain cold.

She said the forecast was a “changing situation” and urged people to check for updates.

The latest forecast comes just weeks after the so-called Beast from the East combined with Storm Emma to shut down much of the UK – grounding flights, forcing trains to be cancelled or even abandoned mid-journey, and leaving some communities out of contact for days.