Brits brace for big freeze: Met Office issues new snow warnings with 20cm to fall as temperatures hit -9C

14 January 2024, 12:58 | Updated: 14 January 2024, 15:19

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

The Met Office has warned snow and ice will affect parts of the UK for most of next week, with up to 20cm set to fall in some areas.

Weather warnings for snow and ice came into effect in Scotland this morning, with up to 5cm of snow expected to fall by the end of today.

A second weather warning for snow ice has also been issued for tomorrow, covering Scotland and Northern Ireland, before an Arctic blast brings "wintry showers" to England on Tuesday.

A separate weather warning for snow ice, covering north England, parts of the Midlands, Wales, and Scotland, will come into effect from midnight on Tuesday, running for a full 24 hours.

The Met Office has warned Brits to expect "further snow showers" in these areas, which could "merge into a longer spell of snow".

The forecaster has also warned the winter blast is likely to cause disruption on the roads and railways, with up to 20cm of snowfall in some areas.

But the weather warnings do not end there, with yellow weather warnings for snow remaining in those areas until the end of Thursday, meaning Brits face five days of snowfall.

There is also a cold health alert in place for the next week, covering the north east of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, south east England and London.

After initially hitting Scotland and northern Ireland, some forecasters have predicted a snow blast for the north of England, where temperatures will be freezing on Sunday.

"It is going to be feeling pretty chilly in the north of Scotland," said Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick.

"Throughout the week we are going to see more and more snow showers and warnings, towards the end of the week we will probably see an accumulation.

"The warning is of 2cm to 5cm of snow, throughout the week there is the possibility we will see a build-up of snow."

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The forecaster went on: "On Tuesday, we are going to see more rain turning to snow moving east across the country, with more prolonged snow and more accumulations at low levels in the north of Scotland and northern England.

"That's where we could see 5cm or 10cm of snow in low-lying areas. There's a very low chance the south might see a bit of it."

It comes less than two weeks after Britain was hit by Storm Henk, which caused widespread flooding and travel disruption across the country.