Yellow warning of snow affecting South West England

Met Office sent this bulletin at 01-01-2025 11:15 AM GMT
 
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Yellow warning for South West England
Snow
Between 12:00 (UTC) on Sat 4 Jan 2025 and 09:00 (UTC) on Mon 6 Jan 2025

Headline

Heavy snow may cause some disruption over the weekend

What to expect

  • There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected
  • There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
  • There is a chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel

What should I do?

Issued: 11:12 (UTC) on Wed 1 Jan 2025

Further Details

Outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank. Whilst there is a fair bit of uncertainty as to how far north this may spread, and how long any snow will last, significant accumulations of snow are possible, especially (but not exclusively) on hills. Currently, parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England are most at risk of disruption, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of Wales and/or the Pennines. This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.

In addition, as milder air attempts to move northwards into southern and central areas, snow may turn to a spell of freezing rain for a time, adding to the risk of ice. If milder air is able to spread more bodily northwards, any snow in southern parts of the warning area may be relatively short-lived before turning to rain.

Given the uncertainties, it is quite likely this warning area and start/end times will be refined over the coming days as confidence increases in areas most likely to be impacted.

What should I do?

Snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous, so to keep yourself and others safe: plan your route, checking for delays and road closures, amending your travel plans if necessary; if driving, leave more time to prepare and check your car before setting off; make sure you have essentials packed in your car in the event of any delays (warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de-icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).

People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

People cope better when they have prepared in advance for the risk of power cuts or being cut off from services and amenities due to the snow. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

View full warning details and map view

Regions and local authorities affected

Central, Tayside & Fife

  • Falkirk

East Midlands

  • Derby
  • Derbyshire
  • Leicester
  • Leicestershire
  • Lincolnshire
  • Northamptonshire
  • Nottingham
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Rutland

East of England

  • Bedford
  • Cambridgeshire
  • Central Bedfordshire
  • Essex
  • Hertfordshire
  • Luton
  • Norfolk
  • Peterborough
  • Southend-on-Sea
  • Suffolk
  • Thurrock

London & South East England

  • Bracknell Forest
  • Buckinghamshire
  • East Sussex
  • Greater London
  • Hampshire
  • Kent
  • Medway
  • Milton Keynes
  • Oxfordshire
  • Reading
  • Slough
  • Surrey
  • West Berkshire
  • West Sussex
  • Windsor and Maidenhead
  • Wokingham

North East England

  • Darlington
  • Durham
  • Gateshead
  • Middlesbrough
  • Newcastle upon Tyne
  • Northumberland
  • Redcar and Cleveland
  • Stockton-on-Tees

North West England

  • Blackburn with Darwen
  • Blackpool
  • Cheshire East
  • Cheshire West and Chester
  • Cumbria
  • Greater Manchester
  • Halton
  • Lancashire
  • Merseyside
  • Warrington

SW Scotland, Lothian Borders

  • Dumfries and Galloway
  • East Lothian
  • Edinburgh
  • Midlothian Council
  • Scottish Borders
  • West Lothian

South West England

  • Bath and North East Somerset
  • Bristol
  • Devon
  • Dorset
  • Gloucestershire
  • North Somerset
  • Somerset
  • South Gloucestershire
  • Swindon
  • Wiltshire

Strathclyde

  • North Lanarkshire
  • South Lanarkshire

Wales

  • Blaenau Gwent
  • Bridgend
  • Caerphilly
  • Cardiff
  • Carmarthenshire
  • Ceredigion
  • Conwy
  • Denbighshire
  • Flintshire
  • Gwynedd
  • Isle of Anglesey
  • Merthyr Tydfil
  • Monmouthshire
  • Neath Port Talbot
  • Newport
  • Pembrokeshire
  • Powys
  • Rhondda Cynon Taf
  • Swansea
  • Torfaen
  • Vale of Glamorgan
  • Wrexham

West Midlands

  • Herefordshire
  • Shropshire
  • Staffordshire
  • Stoke-on-Trent
  • Telford and Wrekin
  • Warwickshire
  • West Midlands Conurbation
  • Worcestershire

Yorkshire & Humber

  • East Riding of Yorkshire
  • North Lincolnshire
  • North Yorkshire
  • South Yorkshire
  • West Yorkshire
  • York