Bitter winds to bring sub-zero temperatures to Britain and chance of London snow

5 February 2021, 10:49 | Updated: 5 February 2021, 10:54

Yellow and amber warnings have been put in place over the weekend as snow and bitter temperatures are expected to wreak havoc across Britain.

Winds from the Baltic and Scandinavia are expected to bring "dangerous" blizzards and cause the mercury to plunge for the next four days - with the amber warning in place for central and northern Scotland.

Residents in already-deluged areas can expect more heavy rain, with Yorkshire and the North East of England expected to bear the brunt of the downpours.

Ice and snow are forecast to follow, with the Met Office warning of "prolonged periods" of snowfall reaching up to 30cm in the higher areas.

A separate yellow warning forecasts periods of snow, heavy at times, for much of inland central and northern Scotland through Friday and into Saturday.

A further warning for snow and ice covers the length of Britain from midday on Saturday to midnight on Monday.

By next week, temperatures will be struggling to get much above 0C in quite a few places, with some areas such as the Pennines and high parts of Scotland seeing several degrees below that.

Birmingham faces lows of minus 2C by Tuesday morning, while a strong easterly wind will make it feel many degrees below freezing in some parts, according to Met Office forecaster Steven Keates.

He said it will be "really unpleasant" to be outdoors, adding: "If you do have to go outside there are lots of layers required, I think."

Mr Keates said the south of Britain will see a "marked" drop in temperatures across Saturday and Sunday, with some parts possibly seeing 5-10cm of snow.

He said: "Enough snow is on the cards to cause potentially quite a bit of disruption in the south-east of England through Sunday, and potentially very early next week as well."

It is expected to hit the eastern side of the country and reach London and the south coast by Sunday.

This would mark the second time London has been hit by snow in a two-week period, following deluge last week.

The cold front could put vulnerable people at risk as it may slow down the vaccinations roll out, especially in areas will face the heaviest snow.

There are further warnings that these weather conditions could lead drivers stranded and cause power cuts in southern Scotland and northern England over the weekend.