UK weather live: Amber warnings in place as snow and freezing rain hits Britain
Major health warning issued and disruption including travel chaos and power cuts likely as Met Office issues alerts across the country for first weekend in 2025
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Your support makes all the difference.Two amber weather warnings are in place across the UK as heavy snow and freezing rain has started to hit Britain.
The first amber warning for snow and rare freezing rain covering most of Wales and central England came into place from 6pm on Saturday to midday on Sunday.
Another amber snow alert is in place across most of northern England from 9pm on Saturday until the close of Sunday.
Up to 40cm of snow is expected in the worst affected areas, while much of the warning area can expect 3cm to 7cm, the Met Office predicted.
The alerts come after the forecaster confirmed temperatures plunged to as low as -8.6C in Aboyne in Aberdeenshire overnight.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also issued a Cold-Health Alert (CHA), warning of an “increase in risk to health”.
Meanwhile, Bristol Airport was forced to suspend flights after heavy snowfall as a “number of collisions” were reported across Somerset.
Temperatures forecast to fall to -10C
Temperatures of -10C could be seen in parts of rural Scotland on Friday night, according to new Met Office forecasts.
The coldest temperature recorded in January last year was -14C, in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands.
Southern areas to get brief respite before cold returns
Milder air will briefly cover some southern areas during the weekend before a new northerly flow allows colder conditions to return across the UK next week, the Met Office said.
Deputy chief forecaster Dan Holley said temperatures would remain below average with some areas struggling to get above freezing for several days.
Further weather warnings could be issued for the start of next week.
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