North West England: severe weather warnings

A band of snow, some heavy, will spread from the west during the early hours of Thursday and continue during the morning, clearing away eastwards and becoming confined to northeastern England by the early afternoon. Accumulations of up to 5cm are expected in many areas, and on high ground 10 to 15cm could occur, with blizzards and considerable drifting in the strong, occasionally gale force southerly or southeasterly winds.

The public are advised to take extra care and refer to the 'Highways Agency' for further advise on traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads.

Issued at: 2158 Wed 3 Dec

There is a high risk of a severe weather event affecting parts of Scotland and the northern half of England. Snow spreading from the west on Wednesday evening will become persistent and heavy at times by the early hours of Thursday morning, eventually clearing away eastwards from England by Thursday afternoon and from most of Scotland by the evening. On low lying ground there is the potential for 2 to 5 cm of snow to accumulate, while on ground above about 150 metres accumulations of 10 to 20 cm are expected, with blizzard conditions and considerable drifting in strong winds. This is likely to cause disruption to travel networks, particularly across higher level routes.

This warning is likely to be superceded by Flash warnings.

Issued at: 1122 Wed 3 Dec

There is a moderate risk of a severe event affecting parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England. Snow spreading from the west on Wednesday night is likely to become persistent and heavy at times into Thursday morning, especially on hills, and potentially to some lower levels. There may be temporary accumulations of 2 to 5 cm in places, with some drifting likely over higher ground in strong winds. In addition, rain, sleet and snow falling onto frozen ground may lead to locally icy conditions. The snow, turning to rain at lower levels, will have cleared away eastwards by Thursday afternoon.

Issued at: 1137 Wed 3 Dec