Wales weather: Met Office yellow warnings for ice and heavy snow

Heavy snow is expected to hit Wales this weekend, with a yellow warning in place.

Snowfall of up to 30cm (12in) is forecast for some areas, with about 5cm (2in) expected more widely.

A Wales-wide warning for snow is in place between 12:00 GMT on Saturday and 09:00 on Monday.

The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for ice from 16:00 on New Year’s Day until 10:00 on Thursday, while flood alerts apply to some parts of the country.

The ice warning applies to Ceredigion, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Powys and Wrexham.

The forecaster said there was a “fair bit of uncertainty” over how long the snow would last, but warned power cuts and travel delays were possible and urged people to prepare in advance for adverse conditions.

It said Wales was one of the areas most at risk of disruption – alongside north England and the Midlands – with high ground to be hardest hit and drifting possible due to strong winds.

It comes after wind gusts of up to 75mph (120km/h) were predicted across Wales on New Year’s Day, and another yellow weather warning issued.

On Wednesday morning, there were 13 flood warnings and 39 flood alerts in Wales from Natural Resources Wales (NRW).

The organisation also urged people not to travel to its forests and reserves on New Year’s Day due to high winds.

A tree blocking the railway at Llanwrtyd, Powys, meant trains between Swansea and Shrewsbury could be cancelled or revised, Transport for Wales said, adding other services may also be disrupted due to weather.

A suspected landslip on the A470 between Dolgellau and Mallwyd in Gwynedd caused some traffic delays, as well as flooding on the A494 at Pont Lliw near Llanuwchllyn, which has since receded and the road fully reopened.

At about 08:00, firefighters were called to the B5106 near Llanrwst, Conwy county where a vehicle had driven into flood water and become stuck.

The two rescued occupants were cold but unharmed, the fire service said.

Both the B5106 and the A470 were partially closed through the county as well, with flood water blocking the former near Maenan and the latter shut south of Dolgarrog.