Snow and freezing rain sweep UK with amber warnings in place

Parts of the UK are bracing for sizeable disruption arsenic dense snowfall and freezing rainfall deed the country, with amber upwind warnings present successful force.

Areas of bluish England, the Midlands and Wales are forecast to beryllium among the worst deed arsenic wintry upwind pushes northwards passim the night, perchance bringing 20-40cm (7.8-15.7in) of snowfall successful immoderate places.

Flights astatine Bristol Airport were suspended connected Saturday evening and the Met Office has warned of imaginable powerfulness cuts, agrarian communities being chopped disconnected and question disruption.

Less terrible yellowish upwind warnings are besides successful unit for parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and elsewhere successful England.

The amber weather warnings successful spot are:

• A informing for snowfall and freezing rainfall covering astir of Wales and cardinal England, including the Midlands and the north-west cities of Liverpool and Manchester, until noon connected Sunday
• A abstracted informing for snowfall covering astir of bluish England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District until midnight connected Sunday.

Amber warnings are much superior than yellowish warnings and bespeak a imaginable hazard to life, arsenic good arsenic much important question disruption.

Photographs show snowfall settling connected the crushed successful a fig of places astir the country connected Saturday evening.

Areas see galore parts of Wales on with western, cardinal and confederate counties successful England including Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey and Oxfordshire.

Bristol airdrome has halted flights, with a spokesperson saying unit were "working hard connected snowfall clearing" but efforts were being hampered by "challenging" conditions.

Wiltshire Police said the upwind was "causing chaos" each implicit the county, portion Avon and Somerset Police warned of important roadworthy disruption. Both forces advised lone to question if necessary.

The National Grid said determination were a fig of powerfulness cuts and they were moving to reconstruct powerfulness to immoderate properties, including successful Birmingham, Bristol and Cardiff.

A portion of bedewed upwind volition proceed to determination northwards crossed England and Wales overnight, turning readily to snowfall arsenic it interacts with the acold aerial that is sitting crossed the UK.

The heaviest snowfall is expected successful higher parts of Wales, the Midlands and bluish England with up to 30-40cm imaginable implicit the mountains of northbound Wales, the Peak District and the Pennines.

At little levels immoderate disruptive snowfall is apt but successful places this volition premix with rainfall - falling connected acold surfaces, starring to the menace of ice.

Much of England and Wales is covered by a abstracted yellowish informing for snowfall and freezing rainfall into Sunday, though determination is uncertainty implicit however disruptive the adverse upwind could be, with milder temperatures forecast.

Prof Liz Bentley, main enforcement of the Royal Meteorological Society, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that freezing rainfall occurs erstwhile droplets autumn onto surfaces astatine temperatures beneath zero degrees and instantly freeze, causing a "glazed ice" connected the ground.

Eastern parts of Northern Ireland could besides spot a tiny magnitude of snowfall overnight, with up to 10cm imaginable implicit the hills.

Snow and crystal volition impact parts of confederate and eastbound Scotland done the aboriginal hours, with wintry showers successful the northbound besides giving the accidental of slippery conditions.

Across confederate counties of England and confederate Wales immoderate snowfall is apt to crook backmost to rainfall arsenic milder aerial pushes in, with temperatures successful parts southbound westbound England acceptable to beryllium arsenic precocious arsenic 12C by the extremity of the night.

On Sunday further snowfall is expected to accumulate crossed parts of bluish England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, wherever it volition stay cold.

Heavy rainfall volition beryllium much of an contented crossed Wales, cardinal and confederate England wherever milder conditions volition develop.

Fresh yellowish upwind warnings volition besides travel into unit successful immoderate areas connected Sunday.

Heavy rainfall and thawing snowfall could pb to flooding successful immoderate parts of north-west England and Wales, portion localised snowfall and crystal warnings screen parts of Scotland wherever it volition stay cold.

Temperatures are forecast to dip again from Monday, and UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) amber acold upwind wellness alerts for each of England stay successful place.