UK weather: Up to 8cm of snow expected to bring weekend disruption

16 January 2021, 10:56 | Updated: 16 January 2021, 11:04

Parts of the UK are expected to see up to 8cm of snow over the weekend, with warnings that some areas could be left isolated.

The temperature could be about 0C in areas of eastern England and parts of Scotland for much of Saturday.

An amber weather warning of heavy snow has been issued by the Met Office across eastern England, with people told to expect travel delays, power cuts and a chance that rural communities could be "cut off".

People in East Anglia woke up on Saturday to a thick layer of snow which had settled overnight, with the wintry downpours expected to continue until the afternoon.

Most of the rest of England and Scotland has a yellow snow alert in place which will last until Saturday evening.

Snow falls in London as parts of UK expect up to 8cm

Between 4-8cm of snow could fall in the worst-affected regions, with the Met Office warning drivers to accelerate their cars "gently" and to leave a large gap between surrounding vehicles.

Parts of Wales and Northern Ireland will be mostly cloudy, with some bands of rain in the northern regions.

Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office forecaster said: "Areas in eastern England and around the M25 could see up to 8cm of snow, especially as Saturday progresses.

"Other areas in England and Scotland will see some snowfall here and there, with Saturday being the colder of the two days over the weekend.

"Temperatures are unlikely to rise above 10C, with a lot of areas closer to freezing."

There were also 25 flood warnings across England on Saturday, stretching from the South East to the North East, meaning "immediate action is required", according to the Environment Agency.

This is expected to clear up in the evening, going into Sunday, when southern and eastern parts of the UK will see dry, sunny spells.

North-western regions are expected to see showers, with a "spell of more persistent rain" later on in the day.