Snow warning for North East

A HUGE area of the North of England could be set for snowfall on Thursday, according to a yellow weather warning issued by the Met Office.

Forecasters think up to 20cm of snow could fall on higher ground – with lower-lying areas still likely to get a dusting of wintry weather. The yellow warning is in place between 3am on Thursday and 3am on Friday, and covers England from the Midlands to the Scottish border, taking much of the North East, with only the region’s coastal areas not included.

In the warning notice, weather experts have said: “A band of rain, sleet, and increasingly snow, will push north on Thursday bringing up to 2cm snow at lower-levels, 2-5cm on ground above 200m, and perhaps as much as 10-20cm above 400m.

“The snow will ease later in the day, and may turn back to rain or drizzle, especially in the south and east of the area. There is some uncertainty with respect to the rain/snow boundary, and the northern limit of the snow, and so details may change in the coming days as confidence increases in these aspects.”

This is likely to cause a small chance of power cuts and issues with mobile coverage, a slight chance of rural communities becoming cut off, and a small chance of travel delays on roads, on rail or in the air.

The Met Office advice for dealing with potential snow includes planning travel ahead of time and accounting for possible delays, and check your car has items including food, clothing, water, a blanket, a high-vis jacket and a warning triangle ahead of time.