Met Office warns UK areas facing heavy overnight snow | Weather | News
The Met Office has warned that heavy overnight snow, meaning “blizzard”, could hit the UK throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning. Snow and strong winds will cause chaos this Easter weekend as Storm Dave makes landfall in England, Scotland and Wales and the Met Office has issued a series of weather warnings.
A more severe yellow weather warning for wind is in place for the north of England from 7pm tonight until 3am on Sunday 5 April, while in Scotland a yellow weather warning for snow started at 2pm today and will continue until 3am on Sunday, affecting the Grampians and Moray in the Highlands. The forecaster warned that heavy snowfall could disrupt travel and lead to blizzard conditions.
The yellow weather warning for snow stated: “Snow will spread from the south in the afternoon and this will become heavy in the afternoon and evening before clearing in the early hours. A fairly wide range of lows of 5-10cm is likely, 15cm is possible in places, 20-30cm is possible on the ground above 200m. Strengthening winds will cause snow to drift, with the possibility of blizzard conditions in more exposed areas.
“Some low-lying areas will see rain instead of snow, which may cause minor surface water flooding in places.”
The Met Office’s wind warning for England and Wales says: “South-west then westerly winds are expected across north Wales, northern England and southern Scotland on Saturday evening and overnight, easing into the early hours of Sunday. Winds of 60-70mph are widely possible, with winds of around 80mph possible in some coastal or offshore areas.”
Met Office chief meteorologist Chris Bulmer said: “Storm Dave will bring a period of very strong winds, with the strongest winds likely to be in the Amber warning area.. “People should be prepared for impacts that could lead to travel disruptions and possible power outages.”
“Wind speeds will peak at different times as the deep area of low pressure moves across the north of the UK, with peak winds in Northern Ireland expected early on Saturday afternoon before spreading more widely to the north of the UK.”
Strong winds as well as heavy snowfall are also likely to cause disruptions; Accumulations of 5-10cm are possible above 200 meters in northern Scotland. Some areas may see 10-20 cm, and blizzards and drifting snow may pose an additional danger due to strong winds. A Yellow warning for snow has been issued covering parts of north-west Scotland from 15:00 today until 03:00 on Sunday.
Fortunately the weather will improve towards the bank holiday on Monday.
The Met Office added: “Winds will ease on Sunday as Storm Dave moves into the North Sea. Heavy showers will continue in Scotland and Northern Ireland, while weather will be fair across much of England and Wales.”
“Easter Monday will be the driest day of the Easter weekend, with a ridge of high pressure following Storm Dave bringing a calmer day. A cold night will be followed by a sunny spell in most areas.”
