Parts of the South West have been warned to brace for another round of snow, as temperatures drop once again. Met Office forecasters have issued two snow weather warnings in the region this week, one for tonight (January 6) and one for later in the week, with the promise of more disruption on the way.
Snow, ice and very heavy rain caused chaos across the country over the weekend, with poor weather conditions grounding flights at Bristol Airport and wet downpours flooding roads, including the M5. There will be little respite from the bad weather, forecasters say, as a yellow warning for snow and ice comes into effect at 5pm today.
The warning will be in place until 10am on Tuesday, January 7, and meteorologists say there may be increased travel times, icy roads and possibly some injuries from slips and falls. The Met Office says: “Icy stretches are expected to develop this evening, due to ongoing wet surfaces following earlier rain and, in places, snowmelt.
“Frequent sleet or snow showers are also expected to affect Wales and parts of northwest England this evening, moving into southwest England, the Midlands and parts of southern England in the early hours of Tuesday.
The warning continues: “In addition to the ice, these are likely to produce snow accumulations of a few cm above 200 metres, with a small chance of greater than 5 cm above 200 metres in Wales. The heaviest snow showers may also produce temporary accumulations of 0-2 cm at low levels.”
After a series of heavy showers throughout the day, the first sprinkles of snow will fall in the South West at around 3pm in Devon, before becoming more widespread as the day progresses. Overnight, a larger band of snow is set to blow across Gloucestershire from Wales.
Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall are included in the warning are, as are Wales and the Midlands. On Wednesday, January 8, a second snow warning will come into effect, this time including Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and the South.
Of that warning, the Met Office said: “Whilst not all areas may be affected, outbreaks of snow may push in from the southwest during Wednesday, potentially giving some significant accumulations in places. 2-5 cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, and as much as 10 cm over higher ground, especially over east or northeast-facing slopes.”
Local residents can 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, most likely in upland areas
- There is a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel