UK weather forecast: Yellow warning of thick fog in place for Friday and Saturday

Yellow weather warnings are issued for England

A person walks across Basingstoke Common in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Picture date: Thursday 13 January, 2022. (PA)

Officials have warned that widespread fog over Thursday and Friday is likely to to cause travel disruption across the UK.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for England, including large parts of the south east and south west, and up to the north west - as far as Cheshire.

Cities and towns expected to be affected include Bath, Bristol, Cambridge, Slough, Milton Keynes, Swindon, Newport, Leicester, Telford and Wrekin, Reading, Oxford, and Peterborough.

The warning, issued earlier this morning, reads: “Fog patches will reform during Thursday afternoon, particularly in river valleys and near lakes, and may become locally dense during the evening with visibility below 100 m in places.

“Fog is expected to become more widespread overnight and after dawn on Friday morning with further dense patches, before slowly clearing. However, a few patches may persist into the afternoon.”

Met officials have told people to expect slower journey times, and delays to bus and train services over the next two days. Flight delays and cancellations are also likely.

According to the forecasters, road users should exercise particular caution when travelling in fog. Advice includes avoiding travel if possible, driving very slowly with dipped headlights, and to keep an eye on your speed as fog can give the illusion of moving in slow motion.

For more tips for driving in foggy conditions, see here.