UK weather: 100-mile corridor of snow and temperatures as low as -10C predicted

The Met Office has issued several "be aware" yellow warnings for snow and ice across the UK

Snowy conditions in Clydebank, Scotland, as temperatures are expected to fall to as low as minus 10C in rural Scotland over the weekend as the winter chill sets in across the UK (PA)

Severe weather warnings have been issued across large parts of the UK this weekend, with up to 10cm of snow expected along a 100-mile wide corridor and temperatures as low as -10°C in parts of Scotland.

The Met Office has issued 12 "be aware" yellow alerts of snow across Scotland, Northwest England, the Midlands and southern England, as well as London.

Temperatures in Manchester have reached -2°C and temperatures in London sit at 1°C.

Last night, temperatures in Yorkshire and London dipped below zero, while Scotland saw lows of -8°C.

The cold snap, which is predicted to last longer than 48 hours, has been caused by the knock-on effect of Hurricane Alex in the Atlantic, which is pushing mild air from the west into conflict with cold air from the east.

Over the weekend, sleet and slow are expected to move southeastwards throughout the day. Overnight, it will be less cold in the west, but severe frost is predicted in the east.

Sleet and snow are also predicted, along with more cold weather, on Sunday.

"A frontal zone which moved eastwards into Britain on Saturday has stalling against the cold airmass which became established over the UK earlier in the week," a spokesperson for the Met Office said.

"This has allowed rain at the leading edge of this frontal zone to turn to snow and persist for several hours before the frontal zone weakens during Sunday, allowing less cold conditions to start developing and some of the snow to start melting."

They added: "This snow is expected to continue to fall along a relatively narrow corridor, perhaps only 100 miles wide, which means that some areas within the warning area may escape much of the snow.

"Meanwhile, icy stretches are likely on to develop on untreated surfaces, including footpaths and cycleways, as snow starts to peter out later on Saturday evening or during Saturday night."