UK weather: Treacherous conditions on roads as snow arrives

Snow has fallen overnight in Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England – with the Met Office warning more is on the way.

The snowfall could cause disruption as children in England head back to school following the half-term break – and forecasters are also warning that road, rail and air travel could also be affected.

A rain and snow warning is in force across northern England until 3pm today, and a snow warning is in place across large parts of Scotland until 10pm tonight.

Met Office forecaster Dan Suri said: “This low-pressure system will bring a lot of moisture into contact with the relatively cold air across the northern half of the UK.

“This brings wintry conditions extending from East Yorkshire to North Lancashire across into Northern Ireland and northwards Scotland.”

Most of the snow in northern England has been forecast for locations above 200m, but lower areas should also expect some to fall before it turns to rain.

The snow will be at its heaviest in Scotland, with 2cm to 5cm in areas above 100m to 200m.

Between 10cm and 20cm could fall in areas above 300m, the Met Office has said.

Northern Scotland has also seen the coldest temperatures of the day so far, hitting -6C (21.2C).

The South of England is much warmer in comparison, with temperatures between 11C (51.8F) and 12C (53.6F).

People living in the affected areas are being warned to expect:

• Possible travel delays including stranded vehicles and problems on the railway
• A risk that rural communities could become cut off
• Power cuts and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, could be affected.

Motorists are being urged to drive carefully, with gritters out in force.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: “At the moment we’re seeing ice and frost overnight most nights, and there are going to be a lot of icy patches around this morning.

“People need to keep an eye out.”

The arrival of snow continues the unsettled start to the year for weather, with parts of the UK still reeling from the impact of two named storms – Ciara and Dennis.

While no snow warnings are in place beyond Monday, wintry showers could place additional pressure on areas badly affected by heavy rain over the last few weeks.

It comes as Environment Secretary George Eustice defended Prime Minister Boris Johnson over his response to the flooding in towns and villages most ravaged by Storm Dennis.

“It’s not true that the prime minister hasn’t been engaged in this,” he told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday.

He added that it was “inevitable that we’re going to get more of these extreme weather events”, and that “all we can really do is improve our flood defences and improve our flood response”.

Downing Street said it was important not to “distract” from ongoing efforts to deal with the flooding.

Mr Johnson’s official spokesman said: “We are hugely grateful to all of those who have helped in response, from the Environment Agency engineers and the emergency services out on the ground to the military who have stepped in to assist.

“The government has extensive plans in place to deal with these kinds of extreme weather events and we are working tirelessly to help everyone affected.”

One severe flood warning, meaning a danger to life, is still in place at the River Severn in Shrewsbury.

Sky’s Becky Johnson, who is in Shrewsbury, said: “The water has become very very deep, very very quickly.

“You can see why that severe flood warning was put in place and remains in place.

“There was so much rain in Wales at the weekend making its way down the River Severn.

“The river has burst its banks in quite a few places through Shrewsbury town centre.

“You can barely make out the difference between the road and the river.”

There are a further 92 flood warnings and 182 flood alerts in place as of Monday morning, from from Cornwall to the Norfolk coast and from Dorset to the Scottish border.

While the extreme weather should settle down over Tuesday and Wednesday – accompanied by a notable dip in temperatures – the Met Office said further heavy rain is expected on Friday.

(c) Sky News 2020: UK weather: Treacherous conditions on roads as snow arrives