After the news that forecasters were predicting the phenomenon that led to 2018’s ‘Beast from the East‘, there are now weather warnings for snow and ice in places across the UK – but especially for Greater Manchester and the north this week.
The Met Office has warned of ‘widespread snow‘ this week with a number of snow and ice warnings issued across the UK. In Greater Manchester, sunny weather today (Monday) is set to make way for wintery conditions with snow showers forecast for both Tuesday and Wednesday, and temperatures are set to plummet to below freezing with the mercury dropping to as low as -4°C in parts of our region in the early hours.
National Highways has issued a severe weather alert for snow affecting the north west, with road users advised to plan ahead, and some rural communities warned they could be temporarily cut off.
A snow and ice warning is in place from 3am on Monday until 9am on Tuesday across Northern Ireland with another for ice in place until 11am on Monday across parts of north east Wales and north west England from Liverpool to the West Midlands.
Snow will be most likely in the early hours of Wednesday, with rain and hail turning to snow in the freezing temperatures. Snow is set to hit westerly parts of Greater Manchester first including Bolton and Warrington, sweeping over the city centre and over to Yorkshire.
While Britain has experienced flooding and travel disruption from multiple named storms in recent weeks, conditions have remained mostly mild as we escape the chill gripping many parts of northern Europe – though this now looks set to change.
Whilst we’re excited at the prospect of snow, be warned, this cold weather is not to be sniffed at – be careful when out and about and check before you travel.