up to 30cm of snow may fall as cold snap approaches

The Met Office has warned that up to 30cm of snow could fall on parts of England and Wales as a cold snap approaches, bringing further disruption after a wet and windswept start to 2025.

Much of the UK has already been battered: widespread flooding in Manchester led emergency services to declare a major incident and many New Year’s Eve celebrations were dampened.

Now the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow, starting at noon on Saturday and remaining in force until 9am on Monday and covering almost all of England except parts of the southern and eastern coasts, and all of Wales and southern Scotland.

Travel delays and power cuts are likely in the worst-affected areas — the Midlands, Wales and northern England — which could have up to 30cm of snow.

Dan Holley, the Met Office deputy chief forecaster, said: “An Atlantic frontal system is likely to move across parts of the central and southern UK through the weekend. With milder, moisture-laden air engaging with the cold condition already in place, this may bring a spell of snow in some areas, before possibly turning back to rain in the south.

“At this stage, there’s a fair amount of uncertainty over exactly which areas will see disruptive snow, with parts of Wales, northern England and the Midlands most likely to see some impacts.

“Here we could see 5cm or more in quite a few areas, and perhaps as much as 20 to 30cm over high ground including Wales and the Pennines. Coupled with strengthening winds, this could lead to drifting — making travelling conditions difficult over higher-level routes in particular.”

He added: “We’ve currently issued a yellow warning for snow covering a large part of England, Wales and southern Scotland to cater for possible disruption over the weekend, but it’s quite likely this will be refined over the coming days as confidence in the forecast increases. So, it’s worth keeping up to date with the latest warnings.”

On Wednesday, emergency services in Greater Manchester declared a major incident as they dealt with widespread flooding. Mountain rescue teams were deployed to help deal with damaged properties and stranded vehicles, and in Dunham Massey, heavy rain caused a canal to breach for the the first time since 1971.

The worst affected areas included Bolton, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport, Wigan and Didsbury, where about 450 people were evacuated from a hotel on Wednesday night.

Two new flood alerts were issued on Thursday morning for the Lower River Wharfe and Lower River Ure in Yorkshire.

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, including street parties and fireworks, were cancelled over safety concerns.

Fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, Ripon in North Yorkshire and the Isle of Wight were also axed. London’s New Year’s Eve firework display went ahead as planned

In the Highlands, flooding forced the closure of the A9 at Tomich. The Far North Line was also closed temporarily, while rail services between Dingwall and Inverness were halted due to flooding.

In West Yorkshire, trains were cancelled due to flooded tracks. Heavy rain and strong winds left hundreds of homes across Lancashire without power.

AA Roadwatch makes the following recommendations when a yellow snow warning is in place:

• Plan ahead: Consider any potential travel delays or disruption to your daily activities.
• Monitor the forecast: Keep an eye on the latest forecast as the weather may change or worsen.
• Follow authority advice: Follow any advice given by authorities and be prepared for extraordinary measures.
• Avoid driving if possible: Driving in a yellow warning area may not be a likely risk, but there may be increased congestion and disruption.
• Give vulnerable road users more room: Give cyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians more room than usual.
• Reduce speed and brake gently: If you’re driving in an automatic car, you won’t be able to use engine braking, so it’s important to reduce speed and brake gently.