Snow hits Britain as Arctic freeze sends temperatures plummeting to -10C with warnings over blizzards and travel disruption

Britain faces widespread snow today as an Arctic freeze grips the country for up to a week amid fears over travel chaos and temperatures plummeting to -10C.

Yellow warnings for snow and ice were activated this morning for London, southern England, the Midlands and North West as well as Wales and Northern Ireland.

Snow has been falling since yesterday in Scotland but significant accumulations are set to build up from midday there when an amber warning comes into force.

The Met Office expects daytime temperatures across the UK will struggle to breach 0C (32F) and could even fall into the minus double digits over the coming days.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) extended an amber cold health alert for all of England until next Friday amid warnings of the weather causing a rise in deaths.

Travel disruption is expected as wintry weather moves south-eastwards over England and Wales today, with National Rail warning passengers to check before they travel.

A 12-hour yellow weather warning for snow and ice was in place throughout this morning until noon for an area covering London, Greater Manchester and Cardiff.

Around 2cm (0.8in) of snow could fall within the warning area, with up to 5cm (2in) on higher ground of North Wales, North West England and the North West Midlands.

A further yellow warning for ice in the South West of England was issued by the Met Office shortly after 6.30am this morning, running until 10am.

Heavy snowfall caused difficulties for motorists in the Highlands on New Year’s Day, with warnings of blizzard-like conditions coming today and into the weekend.

Northern Scotland has had a 42-hour yellow warning for snow and ice since 6am yesterday, which runs until the end of today.

A 24-hour amber snow warning comes into force at noon today, covering the regions of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands.

The amber warning, which ends at 12pm tomorrow, covers areas within the wider yellow weather warning.

The Met Office says the amber areas in Scotland could see power cuts and vehicles becoming stranded.

Within those regions, there could be snow accumulations of up to 20cm (8in) on low ground and up to 40cm (15in) on higher ground.

Those in the affected areas have been warned the wintry conditions are likely to continue into the weekend.

Describing the amber warning, the Met Office said: ‘Heavy snow showers will become more frequent and may merge to give longer spells of snow at times.

‘The area and period covered by this warning are when the heaviest and most disruptive snow is thought most likely during the current cold spell, with existing yellow warnings covering a wider area and a longer period.’

The forecaster continued: ‘Windy conditions will also result in some drifting of snow and temporary blizzard conditions.’

Chief Superintendent Scott McCarren, Police Scotland’s head of road policing, said: ‘Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary during the bad weather or if it can be delayed until conditions improve.

‘If you need to travel, please drive to the conditions, be prepared for delays and allow extra time for your journey.

‘Please don’t drive through road closures, the decision to close roads is not taken lightly and is done for public safety.’

Scotland’s Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: ‘Some very challenging weather and freezing temperatures are being forecast for the next few days and into the weekend.

‘We would urge people to listen to Police Scotland travel advice and check with their operator.

‘The Traffic Scotland website gives people access to the latest information on the trunk road network and Traffic Scotland social media channels are updated regularly, so you can check if your route is available.

‘There may also be disruption on other modes of transport, so please check with your operator before setting off.’

Aberdeen Airport advised passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.

An AGS Airports spokesman said: ‘The airfield is currently operational and our teams will continue to work to clear snow and de-ice the airfield throughout the day.

‘We would advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline and to take extra care when travelling to the airport.’

A separate yellow warning was in place for Northern Ireland between midnight and 10am today.

People have been urged to prepare for longer journey times by road, and on bus and train services.

The AA estimated the number of car journeys is likely to reach 20.7million across the UK on January 2 after a quieter day on the roads on New Year’s Day when 18million trips were predicted.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: ‘We expect this cold spell to persist into the weekend and on into next week, with further warnings possible as temperatures remain well below average and snow showers continue in places.’

The UKHSA said the amber cold health alert means the weather is ‘likely’ to cause significant impacts across health and social care services, including a ‘rise in deaths’ among those with health conditions or aged 65 or over.

The Government agency extended the alert this morning – it had initially been due to run until next Tuesday, but will now run until next Friday.

Dr Paul Coleman, consultant in health protection at the UKHSA, said: ‘The weather is forecast to be very cold across England over the coming few days. 

‘Low temperatures like these can have serious impacts on the health of some people, particularly older people and those with serious health conditions.

‘Exposure to cold can lead to increased risk of heart attacks, strokes and chest infections.

‘It is therefore really important, as the colder weather sets in, to check in on friends, family and neighbours that are most vulnerable.’

The lowest temperature yesterday was -6.2C (20.9F) at Hurn in Dorset, after a low on New Year’s Eve of -9.6C (14.8F) at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.