UK weather: Snow and ice warnings as temperatures set to plummet as low as -9C

Parts of England, Wales and Scotland are facing snow and icy weather this weekend – with temperatures set to plummet as low as minus 9C – as Britain braces for a cold snap in the days ahead.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning covering the north east and north west of England, Wales, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber.

A yellow weather warning for Sunday has also been put in place over the Midlands, North East and eastern parts of Scotland.

Forecasters said up to 5cm (2ins) of snow could fall on Saturday over higher ground with up to 2cm (0.8ins) at lower levels.

“Where snow falls, expect slippery pavements and tricky driving conditions,” the Met Office said.

It added that temperatures could plummet as low as -9C (15.8F) in the west of Scotland overnight into Sunday.

The Met Office warned that roads and railways were likely to be affected and to expect longer journey times while icy surfaces could mean injuries through slips and falls.

A number of lower league football matches in Scotland and northern England and as far south as Swindon were called off on Saturday due to frozen pitches.

Forecasters have already predicted that the first week of January will see Britain gripped by harsh frosts and bitterly cold icy conditions.

The Met Office predicts that Monday to Wednesday will feel cold, especially in the south, while parts of Scotland will feel the chill too, with temperatures as low as -5C.

For the second half of the week and into the weekend it is forecasting that conditions “are likely to turn more widely unsettled with a mixture of rain, sleet and snow for many parts of the UK”.

Parts of the UK have already experienced harsh conditions this winter with snow falling in some parts of the country on New Year’s Eve and Storm Bella bringing floods a few days earlier.

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