The Met Office says Brits should expect “a prolonged spell of very cold weather for the start of 2026”, and it has issued several weather warnings for snow and ice
More snow is expected across parts of the UK today as temperatures will struggle to exceed freezing.
The Met Office is so concerned about the cold snap it has seven weather warnings still in place today, including an amber alert for the accumulation of up to 20 inches of snow in parts of Scotland.
Annie Shuttleworth, meteorologist with the Met Office, said last night: “We’ve got Arctic maritime air moving in from the north, bringing a bitterly cold feel, and some frequent snow showers to northern areas.
“This feature across more eastern areas will bring a risk of snow to northeastern areas of England. By the end of the weekend, we could see up to 50 cm accumulating over the highest ground. There’s an added risk of strong winds that brings a risk of blizzards and snow drifting.”
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The coldest place in the UK on Friday was Drumnadrochit, Scottish Highlands, where -5.7C was recorded by the Met Office. Similar temperatures are expected today, but these will be more widespread across the UK.
The weather warnings concern snow and ice but it will be windy today too, especially along the North Sea coast in Tyne and Wear and County Durham. Travel disruption, notably in the Northeast of England, is expected, forecasters warn.
Bitter temperatures will plunge further during Saturday night. Ms Shuttleworth continued: “We could see some ice developing where we do see any of those snow showers throughout the course of Saturday, as it is going to be another widely very cold night on Saturday night, once again down into those minus single figures.
“We could be down as low as -8C across anywhere where we do have any lying snow, particularly across northern areas. So a very very cold feel to come on Sunday.”
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List of Saturday’s weather warnings in full
Amber warning for snow until midday
Orkney & Shetland
Central, Tayside & Fife
Grampian
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
Yellow warning for snow and ice until midday
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Dundee
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
Grampian
- Aberdeen
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Na h-Eileanan Siar
- Highland
Orkney & Shetland
- Orkney Islands
- Shetland Islands
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- Inverclyde
- West Dunbartonshire
Yellow warning for snow and ice until Sunday
East Midlands
East of England
North East England
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North East Lincolnshire
- North Yorkshire
Yellow warning for snow and ice until 10.00am
Wales
- Bridgend
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Neath Port Talbot
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
Yellow warning for ice until 10.00am
South West England
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Plymouth
- Somerset
Yellow warning for snow and ice until midday
Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
Separate yellow warning for snow and ice from midday Saturday until midday on Monday
Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
