Snow and ice warnings for Wales as temperatures drop

The yellow Met Office warning indicates there could be some difficult travel conditions across Scotland, Northern Ireland and North Wales

An ice warning is in force for much of the UK as temperatures dropped after a major incident was declared due to flooding.

The yellow Met Office warning indicates there could be some difficult travel conditions across Scotland, Northern Ireland and North Wales, stretching down to the Midlands until 10am on Thursday.

For those who intend to travel despite the current wintry weather, both the Met Office and National Rail issued alerts to remind Britons to plan ahead if on the move on Thursday.

Difficult driving conditions should be expected, particularly within areas under a yellow weather warning. Allowing extra time is also advised, with delays, diversions, or hampered conditions likely for road users.

For those using public transport, passengers are advised to check any timetables and services before setting out in case of delays or cancellations due to inclement weather.

As per National Rail, the poor weather will impact trains running across Great Britain, with Northern services, TransPennine Express services, Transport for Wales services and ScotRail services all impacted.

The North West and Wales saw heavy rain on Wednesday, with Marsden seeing 101.2mm of rainfall, more than West Yorkshire’s January monthly average of 85.1mm, and Capel Curig in Wales measuring 101.2mm, which is less than a third of the monthly average of 327mm.

Marco Petagna, senior Met Office meteorologist, said: “Most roads will be treated, there’s a chance on untreated roads that ice will still be an issue.

“On Friday I think we will see further snow and ice warnings issued.”

And a three-day yellow warning for snow has been issued for almost all of England and Wales and parts of Scotland this weekend as the Met Office warned that rural communities could become cut off.

Schools could potentially be closed and there is a chance of power cuts and road closures as well as delays and cancellations to flights and trains, the forecaster said.

MET OFFICE ADVICE:

• There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected
• There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
• A small chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
• There is a chance of travel delays on roads

A yellow warning is in place from noon on Saturday until 9am on Monday and covers all regions of England other than the South West, the majority of Wales and parts of southern Scotland.

About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and/or the Pennines, the forecaster added.

Thursday will otherwise be fine and dry for most, the Met Office reports, although the temperature will feel much colder than the true mercury figure.

The chill will continue into Friday.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “At the moment we’ve issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday but it doesn’t mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow, it’s just a heads-up there could be some impacts.”

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