The Met Office has issued an amber ‘danger to life’ warning amid a spell of freezing rain and snow.
The warning is in place from 9am until 8pm today (Sunday 18 December) and advises:
- Injuries from slips and falls and danger to life on icy surfaces are possible
- Dangerous driving conditions may occur, leading to road traffic collisions, road closures and longer journey times; while pavements and cycle paths may become impassable
- Bus, train and air travel may be affected by delays and cancellations
- There is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
The warning is in place for northern England and includes areas such as Greater Manchester and Leeds.
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Alongside the amber warning in the north almost all of the rest of the UK has a yellow warning with potential disruption to public transport and dangerous driving conditions.
The Met Office said: “A cold and frosty start for many on Sunday morning, but rain and strong winds will quickly spread in from the west
“The rain will turn to snow for a time across the north, and freezing rain will bring some icy conditions in places too.”
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Temperatures dropped as low as -2C earlier today but will warm up slightly later with highs of 14C in southern England.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: “While the northerly airflow and cold conditions that have dominated our weather in recent days are coming to a close, there’s a potent mix of wintery hazards on Sunday which has resulted in several warnings being issued.
“As this milder air from the south moves north, there’s a continued chance of snow, even to low levels, in the north of the UK. Freezing rain, which is a relatively rare phenomenon in the UK, is likely to impact areas near the Pennines and could result in some power interruptions and travel disruptions.
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“Within the Amber warning area, freezing rain could lead to the build up of 2-3mm of ice on untreated surfaces, which is likely to cause treacherous travel conditions and road closures.”
Alongside the Met Office's warnings, A Level 3 Cold Weather Alert is also in force by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) covering all of England.
Seems like an ideal excuse to cancel all your plans and stay home watching Christmas movies, if you ask me.
Claire Reid