North East snow and ice weather warning includes risk of power cuts

A yellow weather alert by the Met Office for Newcastle and the North East also carries a warning of possible power cuts and 'impassable' roads.

With a cold snap already being felt this Sunday ahead of forecasts of snow and ice in coming days, the region is bracing itself for the first bad weather in the run-up to winter. The Met Office's 42-hour alert for snow and ice sees as parts of the UK set for a possible 20cm of snowfall over that period.

Higher ground across northern England and Scotland could be hit by snow from Sunday onwards and even lower areas could see up to 10cm. The yellow alert also affects the north west and Yorkshire.

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The latest yellow alert weather forecast for around the North East is from 7pm on Monday to 10am on Tuesday warns of possible disruption. The Met Office says: "There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected".

It adds there is "a small chance that untreated pavements and cycle paths become impassable" and even a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off. It also warns of similar risk to bus and train services which may be delayed or cancelled and roads which may be closed, all leading to travel delays and longer journey times.

And it alerts people to the possibility of injuries from slipping on icy surfaces. The weather service says rain, sleet and snow are likely during Monday and overnight into Tuesday morning when ice could also form on untreated surfaces, bringing another hazard.

Local areas affected by the yellow alert are Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Gateshead, Durham, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland. While the sun may make an appearance on Monday and Tuesday, it is set to be very cold with temperatures around freezing or at one to two degrees but it will feel several degrees below that.

The "most likely scenario", says the Met Office, is for most of the snow to fall on high ground and while the chance of snow settling at lower levels is uncertain, five to 10cm in this case "would prove much more disruptive". The yellow alert is set to lift on Wednesday, with the day expected to see clear conditions and maybe some sun but it will still feel very cold.