Britain Braces For Icy Weekend

Britain is bracing for a weekend of wintry weather, with ice warnings in place for the whole country until Monday.

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning advising people to be aware of snow and icy conditions across the UK.

Motorists have been warned to take care in the treacherous conditions as sub-zero temperatures continue over the weekend.

On Friday an elderly man was killed in a four-car pile-up on the Formby bypass in Merseyside, where sleet fell earlier in the day.

The Highways Agency said it was well prepared for the cold weather, with a fleet of 500 state-of-the-art winter vehicles on stand-by and enough salt to deal with severe conditions.

"Road users are reminded to plan for their journeys before setting out, checking the forecast, road conditions and leaving extra time if travel conditions are poor, or to delay their journeys if the weather becomes severe," a spokesman said.

"They are also advised to be prepared and carry warm clothing and an emergency pack, which includes food and water, boots, de-icer, a torch, and a shovel in case of snow."

After a frosty and, in places, icy start to Saturday, some areas will have scattered rain, sleet and snow showers.

Elsewhere there may be some repeats of winter wonderland scenes that many parts of the country saw on Friday.

There was 6cm of snow recorded in Glasgow, 2cm in High Wycombe and Buckinghamshire, and 4cm in parts of Northern Ireland.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said there will no escape from the wintery conditions wherever you are.

"What's happening is we've got this very cold northwesterly flow, which has got a lot of showers on it, and the snow line is right down through the country," she said.

"So basically, anything that falls in that is likely to be sleet or snow - it's going to be wintery whichever way you look at it.

"Add to that the fact that we've got some very low temperatures.

"This morning many central parts of Britain are well below freezing so we're always looking at this ice risk, and that's really what we're concerned with this weekend and into Monday.

"Of course this time last year, and the year before, we were knee deep in snow so we've been quite lucky to get away with things so far.

"But certainly it's going to be a cold weekend and with lots of people out shopping for Christmas, I think the slippy pavements and roads are going to be a concern."