UK weather: Snow warnings in place as ‘Arctic blast’ brings ice and sleet

Met Office says parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and northern England to see worst of cold weather conditions

The UK Met Office has issued further warnings that snow and ice will continue to affect many parts of the country on Wednesday.

The national weather service issued a yellow warning for frequent snow showers, expecting further disruptions to continue in many places.

“There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off,” the weather service noted in its warning, adding that there is a chance of power cuts and disruption of services like mobile phone coverage in parts of the north.

Latest radar data suggests there is an area of rain moving in from the south and west that is increasingly turning to sleet and snow as it pushes north.

The cold spell is attributed to a feed of cold air coming into the UK from the Arctic.

“Snow and ice will affect some areas of the country on Wednesday morning, so it’s worth leaving extra time for your journey to work or school,” the Met Office tweeted.

In the South, across parts of London, the weather service warned there may be travel disruptions on Wednesday into Thursday morning due to spells of snow.

A similar warning has also been issued for Northern Ireland with “minor travel disruption” likely due to snow showers.

Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge said colder overnight conditions will hit cities in the UK this week.

Mr Madge said the temperature could plunge to -4C in London and about -6C in Birmingham and Belfast, and “much, much colder than we would expect at this time of year”.

The conditions could remain in place until the weekend and possibly longer, the spokesperson said, adding that they can sometimes be “quite stubborn and not easily subject to change”.

The snow disruption extentions for Thursday and Friday will come with the likelihood of “long delays and cancellations” on bus, rail, and air travel services, according to the Met Office.

Heavy snowfall on Thursday is expected to extend south from Glasgow to parts of England, including Manchester.

The yellow warning has also been extended further north across a larger part of southern England and East Anglia.

“If you’re making a journey, leave yourself extra time and prepare for delays,” the weather service said, adding there may be residual ice impacts that could persist into the morning travel period.