Met Office says 15 English cities and towns to be hit by snow in 22-hour alert

The Met Office has issued alerts to 17 regions of the UK saying that snow is set to fall tonight and tomorrow morning. The 22-hour alert includes places like Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Hull, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, Preston, Nottingham, Leicester, Lichfield, Exeter, Plymouth, and Portsmouth.

Wintry showers are anticipated to hit the regions, arriving across the areas on Thursday at around noon and continuing until 10am on Friday. The full list of local regions affected includes Central, Tayside and Fife, East Midlands, East of England, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, North East England, North West England, Strathclyde, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber.

The Yellow alert for snow and ice was announced at 10:20am on Thursday, November 21. A Met Office forecast said: "Wintry showers are expected to gradually move south this afternoon, then feeding inland from Irish Sea and North Sea coasts at times this evening and overnight, especially through the Cheshire Gap to affect parts of the Midlands and north Wales.

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"Where these occur 2-5cm of fresh snow is possible, with this most likely on ground above 100m. Icy stretches are expected to form on untreated surfaces during Thursday evening and overnight into Friday morning as temperatures drop below freezing, especially following any showers."

The Met Office also issued a snow and ice warning for several regions across the UK for Saturday. The region will be approached by snow flurries, which are forecast to start impacting the areas on Saturday at around 7am before tapering off at 5pm.

The local areas affected are Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Strathclyde. The Amber alert for snow and ice was announced at 11:29am on Thursday, November 21. A Met Office forecast said: "Heavy snow will spread northeastwards on Saturday morning, giving significant accumulations in many areas. Accumulations of 10-20 cm are likely on ground typically above 200m, with potentially as much as 20-40 cm on hills above 400m.

"Snow will eventually revert to rain during Saturday afternoon, but may be preceded by a short spell of freezing rain in places adding to the ice risk. Strengthening winds will lead to drifting of lying snow, with difficult travelling conditions likely on higher level routes, and the risk of interruptions to power supplies. A fairly rapid thaw of lying snow is then likely on Saturday night as milder air moves in."

The second named storm of the season is forecast to bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend. Storm Bert has been named by the Met Office, with wind gusts of up to 70mph expected in some areas.

Heavy snowfall could bring further disruption to parts of the country while heavy rain is also likely, especially in western parts. Storm Bert will reach the UK on Saturday, bringing heavy rain and snow, together with strong winds to large swathes of the country. A number of National Severe Weather Warnings have been issued for Saturday and Sunday.

Ahead of Storm Bert, wintry showers will continue to impact parts of the UK on Thursday and Friday, particularly exposed areas in the north, and there are still a number of National Severe Weather Warnings in place for snow and ice.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Holley said: “Storm Bert marks a shift to much milder air and wintry hazards will gradually diminish through the weekend, but heavy snowfall is expected across parts of northern England and Scotland for a time on Saturday, especially over higher ground, and warnings are in place.”

“Heavy rain through Saturday and Sunday, especially in southern and western parts of the UK, will also bring impacts for some with a number of warnings in place. We expect 50-75 mm of rainfall quite widely within the warning areas, but in excess of 100 mm is possible over high ground in parts of Wales and southwest England.”

What to expect

Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services; Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces; Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

What is a yellow weather warning?

The Met Office has three categories of weather warning, depending on the likely impact of severe weather and also how likely it is to strike in a particular area.
A yellow warning is issued when weather conditions are expected to disrupt travel and traffic and may impact on daily routines but are not likely to pose a risk to life or property.
An amber warning is more severe and advises people to think about changing their plans to minimise the risk.
A red warning means weather conditions are expected to be dangerous with widespread damage to property and a risk to life, with the public usually advised to avoid travelling.
The Yellow weather alert for snow and ice will remain in place until 10am on Friday.