Vast swathes of Britain under warnings for up to 8inches of snow & ice TODAY – before Storm Bert’s wrath this weekend
VAST swathes of Britain are under warnings for snow and ice today.
Parts of Scotland will be blanketed by up to eight inches of snow as Storm Bert strikes this weekend, with a danger to life warning in place.
Airports are also urging passengers to double check their flights are still going ahead – and plan routes carefully.
The storm is set to reach the UK on Saturday and the Met Office is expecting it to bring “heavy rain, strong winds and disruptive snow to parts of the UK through the weekend”, potentially causing travel disruption and flooding.
Last night, the national weather agency said much of the UK experienced temperatures near freezing, with the mercury falling as low as -6C at Tulloch Bridge in Scotland.
Many Brits are waking up to a frost with icy surfaces in places with several yellow warnings for snow and ice in place across the UK until 10am.
One covering parts of Scotland is in effect until midday before a slew of further yellow alerts for wind, rain and snow go live tomorrow.
An amber alert for heavy snow and ice will be in force between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in an area north of Scotland’s central belt, where 10-20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres and potentially as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400 metres.
The warning covers parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire and some of the Highlands and Argyll and Bute.
Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “Through into Friday… snow showers are set to continue mainly around coastal areas though once again still a few feeding inland at times.
“There will also still be plenty of autumnal sunshine. Still feeling cold though, particularly in those brisk winds – once again we’re only looking at highs of around 5C, slightly higher in the south west around 7C.
“Across the north those temperatures struggling to move past 2-3C.
“As we head into Friday evening, a change is on its way as we introduce Storm Bert moving its way in from the Atlantic.
“So we’ll see clouds spilling in from the south west with outbreaks of rain – heavy at times by the time we reach Saturday morning.”
Ms Criswick said there are likely to be “heavy” outbreaks of rain throughout Saturday, “falling as snow” at times across northern parts of England and parts of Scotland.
The wintry weather affected education, with more than 114 schools shut in the Highland Council area on Thursday because of snow, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day will be rescheduled.
Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire were also shut while many others had delayed openings and in Moray around 12 were closed and others opened late.
It comes after more than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland on Wednesday because of the weather.
South of the border, 89 schools were shut in Devon on Thursday, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall, while in Wales around 10 were closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.
Areas affected by Met Office weather warnings
Friday
Yellow warning – snow & ice (up to midday)
Grampian
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Highland
Orkney & Shetland
- Orkney Islands
- Shetland Islands
Yellow warning – snow & ice (up to 10am)
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Dundee
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
East Midlands
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Leicester
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Rutland
East of England
- Bedford
- Cambridgeshire
- Central Bedfordshire
- Essex
- Hertfordshire
- Luton
- Norfolk
- Peterborough
- Suffolk
Grampian
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
Highlands & Eilean
- Siar Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Highland
London & South East England
- Buckinghamshire
- Milton Keynes
- Oxfordshire
- North East England
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Halton
- Lancashire
- Merseyside
- Warrington
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
Wales
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Warwickshire
West Midlands
- Conurbation
- Worcestershire
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
Yellow warning – snow & ice (up to 10am)
- Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
Yellow warning – ice (up to 10am)
London & South East England
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Portsmouth
- Southampton
- West Sussex
South West England
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Somerset
- Torbay
- Wiltshire
Saturday
Yellow warning – wind (5am-7pm)
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
Grampian
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Highland
North East England
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Sunderland
North West England
- Cumbria
Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute East
- Ayrshire East
- Renfrewshire
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
Wales
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Pembrokeshire
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire
Amber warning – snow & ice (7am-5pm)
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
- Grampian
- Aberdeenshire
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Highland
- Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
Yellow warning – rain & snow (4am-9am)
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
East Midlands
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Grampian
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Highland
North East England
- Darlington
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Cheshire East
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Lancashire
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway East
- Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
- Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute East
- Ayrshire East
- Dunbartonshire East
- Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
West Midlands
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
- York
Yellow warning – rain and snow (midnight-11am)
Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
Yellow warning – rain (6am-6am Sunday)
Wales
- Blaenau
- Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Gwynedd
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath
- Port Talbot
- Newport
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda
- Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
Yellow warning – rain (6am-11.45pm)
London & South East England
- Hampshire
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- Southampton
- West Berkshire
- South West England
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth
- Christchurch and Poole
- Bristol
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Gloucestershire
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Swindon
- Torbay
- Wiltshire
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
Sunday
Yellow warning – rain & snow (4am Saturday-9am Sunday)
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
East Midlands
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Grampian
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Highland
North East England
- Darlington
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Cheshire East
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Lancashire
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
- Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
West Midlands
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire York
Yellow warning – rain (6am Saturday to 6am Sunday)
Wales
- Blaenau
- Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Gwynedd
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath
- Port Talbot
- Newport
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda
- Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire