Met Office issues ‘danger to life’ Amber warnings as UK to be battered by snow

The Met Office has issued two ‘danger to life’ amber alerts as parts of the UK brace for heavy snow, with forecasters warning of ‘another cold day with a mixture of rain, sleet and snow’

The Met Office has issued “danger to life” amber weather warnings as parts of the UK brace for heavy snow.

The snow alerts are in place tomorrow alongside four yellow warnings for snow and ice and a fifth yellow warning for ice. The amber warnings, in force from 11am until 7pm, cover much of Scotland, including Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian and Highlands & Eilean Siar. These regions could see another 5 to 10cm of snow widely and up to 15cm on higher ground, on top of the 5 to 10cm and 20 to 30cm in some areas that fell on Monday, when a yellow snow and ice warning was in place the whole day.

“A spell of heavy snow is expected to move east across central and northern Scotland during Tuesday, clearing to wintry showers during Tuesday night,” the Met Office states.

The national weather service warns people not to drive in snow and icy conditions unless absolutely necessary and to avoid putting themselves or others at risk. Given that there is a “good chance” of power cuts, it urges people to prepare by gathering torches, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items. People are also advised to look out for vulnerable individuals, including older people, those with underlying health conditions and those who live alone.

Regions covered by snow and ice warnings include:

Snow and ice should clear by late morning for most of the country, as three of the four alerts are in force from midnight until 11am. However, the snow and ice warning covering central and northern mainland Scotland remains in place all day. A separate ice warning in Northern Ireland is in effect from 5pm today (Monday) until 10am tomorrow (Tuesday).

In its five-day forecast from Monday, January 5, to Friday, January 9, the Met Office sums up the UK weather as: “Staying very cold with snow showers for some.” Tuesday is described as “another cold day with a mixture of rain, sleet and snow across the north. Drier in the south with sunny skies, before rain, sleet and snow moves in this evening.”