Met Office issues new three-day urgent snow chaos warnings as brutal deluge is mapped
The Met Office has began the new week with a fresh round of warnings covering vast areas in the UK - with snow and ice just hours away from hitting.
UK weather: Possible ‘significant’ snow forecast by Met Office
Three new weather warnings for snow and ice are all coming into force in a matter of hours as Brits brace for the first wrath of winter.
A cold Arctic blast has reached the UK, but not every region is going to be hit with wintry showers, as Met Office warnings now focus on Scotland, the north east and an isolated part of the eastern coast of England.
The yellow weather warnings begin from today and last until Wednesday - but that does not rule out more being issued if further risks are identified.
The biggest warning, which covers the largest area, is in place now until midnight tomorrow. The forecaster says: "Snow showers will continue to feed inland early on Tuesday morning across northern and western Scotland, parts of Wales and northwest England where 2-5 cm of snow is possible over a few hours in some places.
"During the day, an area of more organised rain, sleet and snow is likely to move east with further showers following.
"There is still some uncertainty in the track of more prolonged snow, and it is possible that at lower elevations across Wales and northern England, this could turn to rain for a time.
"However, there is a chance some places could see 5-10cm perhaps 20cm of snow, particularly across the northern half of Scotland and over higher ground elsewhere."
Among the chaos, drivers are warned they could become stranded and homes could have their power cut off. Mobile phones may also struggle with signal.
Delays could occur on railways and runways caked in snow may cause travel disruption for air passengers.
Full list of affected areas
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Dundee
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
East Midlands
- Derbyshire
Grampian
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Eilean Siar
- Highland
North East England
- Durham
- Northumberland
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Halton
- Lancashire
- Merseyside
- Warrington
Orkney & Shetland
- Orkney Islands
- Shetland Islands
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
Wales
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Powys
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Staffordshire
Yorkshire & Humber
- North Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
Come Wednesday, the same areas may need to brace for a further onslaught - at least until midday. The warning adds: "A band of sleet and snow is likely to continue to push across this area and towards the southeast during the first part of Wednesday.
"This could bring 1-2 cm of snow over the hills in the region, with a small chance of around 5cm falling in one or two upland areas.
"At lower elevations sleet or very wet snow is likely, but no settling of snow is expected. As this band of sleet and snow clears to the southeast, temperatures will fall below freezing leading to widespread ice developing."
A separate warning for ice has also been issued, mostly for areas in Scotland - from midnight until midday on Wednesday. It continues: "Following the sleet and snowfall across the region on Tuesday, which will have cleared this area by the start of Wednesday, temperatures will widely fall well below freezing.
"This will lead to the refreezing of slush and snow, and ice forming on many surfaces."
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Ice warning alert zones
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Dundee
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
The Met Office's outlook for the rest of this week
A UK wide outlook from Wednesday through until Friday paints a picture of recovery - with a few more scattered and wintry showers on Thursday at first.
It says: "Cold with sunshine and wintry showers, with overnight frosts and ice. Snow showers continuing for windward coasts throughout the week. Temperatures starting to recover late Friday as rain arrives."
The general advice this week is to check before travelling, be prepared to amend plans and leave extra time in a bid to avoid rushing. Weather maps show the UK may be set for heavy rain come this weekend, which may indicate an upward tick in temperatures.