Met Office issues weather warnings of severe cold, ice and ‘blizzard conditions’ this weekend

The Met Office has issued further weather warnings of freezing temperatures, ice and snow this weekend and then blizzards could sweep across the north.

Much of Scotland, the north west and Wales have been issued a yellow weather warning for Saturday.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for south west England, with ice for most of England on Sunday and snow in the north.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Helen Caughey said, “The northerly airflow and cold conditions which have dominated our weather patterns over the last 10 days will start to lose ground to a push of mild air from the south-west on Sunday.

“As the mild air meets the cold air currently in situ over the UK there will be a transient spell of snow, potentially to low levels, especially in the north.

“Add to this the risk of rain falling on to frozen surfaces, and strong winds over upland areas of northern Britain, bringing blizzard conditions, and this could be a day to avoid travelling in some areas, although the snow should turn to rain later.

“There is also a brief risk of a period of freezing rain most likely to impact areas from the Pennines northwards, which could result in some power interruptions.”

Caughey added that freezing temperatures are likely to return next week and it was still too early to know if there will be a “white Christmas Day or not.”

She said, “It will remain unsettled next week. Strong winds could prove disruptive at times, especially through the first half of the week, and there is the possibility of some persistent rain for parts of the South West.

“Although not as cold as we are currently experiencing, we could potentially see a return of some wintry hazards at times, mainly across higher ground in the north, but there is still a lot of uncertainty in how prolonged this might be and what associated hazards it might bring.

“The unsettled picture for next week means, that although Christmas is just a week away, it is still not possible to say with any certainty if we will have a white Christmas Day or not.”