-10C big freeze hits UK: Met Office extends weather warnings with more snow forecast for tonight

1 December 2023, 13:50 | Updated: 1 December 2023, 13:54

The Met Office has extended its yellow weather warning for snow and ice as south-east England sees the earliest winter snow in 15 years, before the mercury plummets to -10C on Friday night.

Snow started to fall as far south as London earlier on Friday, where temperatures felt as cold as -4C.

There was snow in West Hampstead at around 10am this morning with people taking to social media to post pictures and videos.

Parts of the UK could see 5cm of snow before the weekend, with temperatures expected to drop as low as -10C in some areas.

The North York Moors and parts of Scotland will likely see the heaviest snowfall.

Read more: Brits to be buried in '600-mile wall of snow' as Scandinavian freeze sweeps the UK with up to 10cm set to fall

Read more: Snow blankets Britain: Met Office issues snow and ice warnings as temperatures set to plunge to -8C

Meanwhile, The Met Office has extended its yellow weather alerts for snow and ice until Saturday, 11am in some parts of the UK.

The forecaster has warned residents to expect disruption on roads and railways and “icy patches” causing injuries from “slips and falls”.

The weather warning, starting at 5pm on Friday, will stretch from Scotland, across eastern England, reaching London and Dover in the south.

Some parts of Western England will also be affected.

Over 30 schools in Cornwall were closed or opened later amid the dangerous wintry conditions.

Police in County Durham said some cars had crashed because of the snow.

Overnight on Thursday temperatures England already experienced blistering temperatures of -9C in Cumbia

Thermometers dropped to -8C in Parts of Scotland.

People planning to drive this weekend have been advised to keep a winter kit in the car.

And the cold snap is set to continue into the second week of December.

London, Birmingham and Sheffield are expected to be blanketed, with most of the UK facing a 600-mile wall of snow.

Weather maps from WX Charts have shown up to 200cm of snow could fall in some areas in the coming days.

Meteorologist Ellie Glaisyer said: "For most of us it will be dry and bright. There will be some wintry showers over the hills.

"There could be 2cm to 5cm of snow for areas 100m to 200m above sea level, with rain falling at lower levels, particularly Northern Ireland and western Scotland.

"The North York Moors and parts of Scotland will likely get snow.

"There will be another widespread frost, with a max temperature of 5C across the South."

The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued amber cold health alerts in five regions - the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber - until December 5, meaning "cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time".