Amber warning for ice and snow in England and parts of Scotland

The Met Office has issued a new amber warning for snow and ice and extended a weather warning for snow in most of England and parts of Scotland as another easterly cold front is forecast.

The warning, which means disruption is likely, applies to an area of south-east England, parts of the Midlands and most of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

“Travel delays on roads are likely,” it says. The chief forecaster said: “Narrow bands of 5-10 cm of snow are likely. Strong easterly winds will result in some drifting of lying snow, and lead to a significant wind chill.”

A less severe yellow warning for snow comes into force from 6pm on Friday until about midnight on Sunday. The worst of the snow is forecast for Sunday, when the Met Office said there are likely to be rail and flight cancellations, power cuts and some rural communities being cut off.

Sunday’s snow warning covers all of England, except Cornwall and parts of the north-west. The heaviest snowfall is forecast for south-east England where up to 15cm could fall on higher ground.

The weather is expected to turn more wintry on Friday evening when rain will give way to snow as a cold front arrives from Scandinavia. By the end of the night, up to 5cm of snow is forecast for higher ground; on Saturday more than 10cm could fall in some hilly areas. Raw winds will make the temperature feel like -10C.

Friday’s weather warning covers a large section of the east of the UK, from Suffolk to the Highlands of Scotland. More areas have been warned to expect snow as the weekend progresses.

Mark Wilson, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “The best way to describe this is as a real return to wintry conditions. The last couple of days have been quite mild across parts of the UK – we got to about 16C yesterday in Wales – but by tomorrow all of us will be back to very cold weather.

“Bitterly cold is the best way to describe it. Temperatures, on the face of it, will be probably just around freezing, but with wind, it’s going to feel well below.”

Martin Bowles, another meteorologist, said the weekend’s weather could be labelled a “mini beast from the east”. He added: “We don’t expect anything like the same impact as a result of it, although there will be some snow about.”

The latest cold snap comes a fortnight after blizzards and bitter cold – a weather system nicknamed the “beast from the east” – combined with Storm Emma to cause disruption around the UK.