UK Weather: 48-hours of snow and ice to freeze parts of Britain

11 March 2020, 10:50

EJ Ward

By EJ Ward

Forecasters have warned snow and wintry showers are set to sweep across parts of the UK, with travel disruption predicted due to icy roads.

Two 'danger to life' yellow weather alerts have been issued covering large parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland for Wednesday and Thursday.

Forecasters have warned the wintery conditions could cause slips or falls in some areas with transport disruption predicted.

Parts of Britain are set to be blanketed by snow and ice
Parts of Britain are set to be blanketed by snow and ice. Picture: PA

The warnings are in place through Wednesday until 10am on Thursday morning with the cold spell set to stick around until the end of the week.

The Met Office said the lowest temperatures could hit on Friday night with predictions the mercury will drop as low as -5C in parts of Scotland with northern England dropping below zero.

Transport disruption has been predicted in some areas
Transport disruption has been predicted in some areas. Picture: PA

Weather officials have also warned of strong winds and high tides as low pressure builds out towards the north Atlantic.

Meanwhile, in flood-hit Shrewsbury, the River Severn is predicted to rise to levels which may cause more rising water in the town.

According to the Met Office, Norwich, Manchester and Newcastle will be among the worst-hit areas.

Met Office Meteorologist, Emma Salter said: “There’s definitely going to be quite a different feel in the weather over the next couple of days.

Forecasters have predicted up to 2cm of snow in some parts of the country
Forecasters have predicted up to 2cm of snow in some parts of the country. Picture: PA

"Anywhere that’s 150m above sea level is likely to see about 2cm of snow on Wednesday night into Thursday.

"As we go through the week the winds will change and we’ll get that cold feel.

"Every night this week we could get a couple [of places] dipping below freezing."

More than 2cm of snow is likely in places, the Met Office said.

The cold blast is set to bring widespread frost and some snow in parts of the UK on Wednesday night.