Severe ice and snow warning for Wales
WALES has been warned to expect three days of snow as forecasters describe it as the “coldest spell of winter”.
Two yellow severe weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued for parts of Wales today, tomorrow and Wednesday.
Meterologist Liam Dutton said Wales and England are “likely to see their coldest spell of winter so far”, with a risk of snow anywhere in the UK.
The first warning for Wales runs from 8pm tonight until 3pm tomorrow.
It applies to all of Wales except for a small part of south Wales, which includes places such as Caldicot and Barry.
According to the Met Office, a spell of rain will quickly turn to sleet and snow and move south-east across the UK tonight and tomorrow, gradually weakening across England and Wales.
Some roads and railways may be affected, and travellers are warned to expect longer journey times.
The chief forecaster for the Met Office said: “Snow is likely to be confined to hills above 100 metres over Northern Ireland, but to low levels elsewhere.
“Away from coasts, 1-3cm of snow is possible, with up to 5cm above 200 metres. As skies clear from the west early on Tuesday morning, ice is likely to develop across western Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“This warning has been updated to extend the southern boundary further south across parts of Wales for snow, and further north over Orkney to cater for the ice risk following clearance of rain or sleet here on Monday morning. The start time has also been brought forward to 8pm.”
A separate warning for snow and ice has been issued for parts of Wales from 5am tomorrow until 9am on Wednesday. This does not affect Cardiff and the border areas but does cover all areas west of Bridgend.
According to the Met Office’s chief forecaster: “Rain, sleet and snow showers are likely to increasingly affect western parts of the UK.
“Snow showers are likely to be frequent in western Scotland and northern Northern Ireland, where hail and thunder are also possible. Around 5cm of snow is likely at low levels, with some places above 200m seeing 7-10cm.
“As is usually the case with showers, not everywhere within the warning area will see them, and along immediate coastal fringes exposed to the north-west, they may fall predominantly as rain.”
Weather warnings are issued by meteorologists at the Met Office to warn people of weather that could affect their day-to-day life.
As well as ice, they can be issued for fog, rain, wind and snow.
Yellow is the least dangerous colour for a warning. It means that you should plan ahead, thinking about possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day-to-day activities.
The Met Office monitors the developing weather situation and yellow means you should keep an eye on the latest forecast and be aware that the weather may change or worsen, leading to disruption of your plans.