Storm Pedro map: Where snow and ice will hit UK this week
The UK is bracing for a few cold, wintry days as Storm Pedro brings rain, ice and snow across the country.
The yellow ice warning covering most of Wales will come into force on Thursday morning and be lifted at 10am. As the rainy weather is expected to negatively affect coastal areas, a rain warning has been issued for the southern parts of England until 8 am.
Met Office experts have warned that heavy rain and snow could cause some flooding and disruption to travel.
Between 10 and 20mm of rain is widely expected to fall, but areas closer to the south coast could see up to 30mm, while Dartmoor, Devon, could see up to 50mm.
Forecasters said an area of rain and snow lasting until Thursday morning had the potential to affect parts of Wales, central England and the southern Pennines.
Most of the snow is expected to accumulate in the hills; A “wide” 2 to 5 cm is expected above 150 to 200 m. The Met Office said rises of up to 10 to 15cm were possible above 250 to 300 meters in central and south-east Wales, as well as Herefordshire, Shropshire and the south Pennines.
It was stated that small snow accumulations of less than 2 cm could be seen in low areas in the early hours of Thursday morning.
There are 74 flood warnings for England where flooding is expected and 212 where it is likely.
Icy weather may also cause disruption in parts of Wales and south-west England; forecasters warn of slips and falls on untreated surfaces.
Many places in England were flooded due to continuous heavy rains this year.
Last month, Storm Chandra forced schools to close and disrupted daily life.
The UK Health Safety Agency has issued cold weather warnings for parts of England.
The weather conditions will likely lead to increased demand for healthcare services by vulnerable people, as well as a greater risk to the lives of vulnerable people, the agency said.
The meteorologist said the wet weather will be accompanied by strong winds, which could worsen the effects in some places.
Deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates said: “Initially, we may see some snow in the highest parts of southern England such as Dartmoor, but the main chance of snow will be in the higher parts of the Midlands and central and south-east Wales.”
The UK Health Safety Agency’s yellow cold health warning for the East Midlands, West Midlands, North East, North West, South West, east of England, Yorkshire and the Humber will be in force from 6pm on Tuesday until 6pm on Friday.
Met Office senior meteorologist Craig Snell said: “By the time we get to the late part of the day on Thursday, the winds should be dying down by that stage and Thursday will just be a slow day of development.
“Things will change from now on; if we see some sunshine, the weather will be much milder by the end of the week, with temperatures reaching low to mid-degrees.
“There will be continued wind and rain, but most of us will definitely see an increase in temperatures as we head into the weekend.”
