As a result of an amber weather warning set to take effect at 3 pm on Thursday, transportation, power lines, and mobile phone coverage are expected to be disrupted considerably. A yellow warning is also in place for large parts of the UK.
Many in the UK will experience worsening temperatures on Thursday, with more Snow predicted across large areas, resulting in power outages and travel delays.
From Durham to Stoke-on-Trent, an area stretching from the north to the center of England could experience the most snowfall of up to 40cm (15 inches).
Motorists are urged to plan for any disruption to their journeys after several warnings from the Met Office for Snow and ice across the UK.
The overnight temperatures in all four UK nations will be sub-zero for the next few days, marking the coldest night of the year.
All areas of England have been placed under a level 3 cold weather warning by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which lasts until midnight on Thursday.
As a result of an amber weather warning issued by the Met Office at 3 pm Thursday and lasting until midday on Friday, there will likely be “significant disruption” to transport, power lines, and mobile phone networks, and heavy Snow, strong easterly winds, and blizzards are forecast.
The warning affects Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Durham, Cheshire East, North, South, and West Yorkshire.
A cold front will pass over northern England early Thursday morning, bringing Snow for the afternoon and overnight. It is expected to continue through Friday morning before slowly easing off.
As of Friday morning, residual effects from the snowfall are expected to persist. 10-20cm of Snow is expected to fall relatively widely, with some places reporting 30-40cm of snowfall.
“Blizzards and drifting snow are possible, so strong easterly winds are expected with this snowfall.”
A light yellow warning has also been issued for Snow covering most of the country from Wednesday to Friday.
It will cover all parts of the UK north of Birmingham and will be in effect from 7 am on Thursday to 2 pm on Friday.
As a result of an area of low pressure moving across the UK on Thursday and Friday, Snow is expected to develop across Wales and central England at the beginning of the week.
The storm is expected to move slowly north during the day before becoming slow-moving across northern England, northern Wales, Northern Ireland, and southern Scotland in the afternoon and evening before slowly clearing southeast on Friday.
Yellow warnings for Snow and ice until 7 am on Thursday cover central and southern areas of England and Wales, northeast England, and southeast Scotland.
A further yellow warning for Snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until 10 am on Thursday.
Overnight on Wednesday, the temperature in the highlands of Kinbres fell to -15.4C, the lowest this year.
Snow is not unusual in March, but this was the coldest March temperature recorded since 2010, Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said.
She said, “March is a transition month from winter into spring,” “Statistically, you’re more likely to get snow in March than in December.”
