Snowy weather warnings in place as temperatures plunge across UK

Scattered weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across the UK as temperatures plunged below freezing overnight.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings through Saturday morning for the northern coast and southwest of Scotland, as well as southwest and the eastern coast of England.

Forecasters warn the snowy conditions could affect some roads and railways, while there is an increased risk of injury from icy surfaces.

The mercury approached minus 10C in some places overnight, with Tulloch Bridge and Eskdalemuir in Scotland reaching minus 8C.

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Temperatures are tipped to continue to fall over the weekend, with several sporting events cancelled amid snowfall and icy conditions.

Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said it will be minus 3C or minus 4C for many towns and cities on Saturday.

She said: “There’ll… be some snow showers continuing across southwestern Scotland throughout Saturday morning, mainly falling over the high ground above one or 200 metres, but there could be some sleetiness (sic) to lower levels across parts of the Lake District, for example, by lunchtime.

“Elsewhere, though we’ll see the mist and fog slowly clear, it could remain quite murky for a lot of the morning across central and eastern areas.

“The best sunshine will be across northern areas of Scotland, but further south and west, you can see things starting to change a little bit (by Saturday afternoon) with a greater risk of some showers.”

She said as winds shifted to more south-westerly, temperatures would slowly rise through Saturday, feeling a little less cold in the southwest.

“Elsewhere, though still feeling bitterly cold, not much above freezing,” she added.

“Those showers in the southwest then do push further inland throughout Saturday night, and as they bump into the colder air, they could bring some snow to parts of Wales and central areas such as the Peak District, for example.

“There is a little of uncertainty with that one, but it’s only likely to bring a little dusting of snow by Sunday morning.”

The forecaster said the lowest temperature recorded on Friday was minus 9.4C in Shap in Cumbria.

The areas with the most snow on Friday were Aviemore, Invernesshire, 5cm; Albemarle, Northumberland, 2cm; Bingley, West Yorkshire, 2cm; and Loftus, Cleveland, 1cm.

Crewe’s match with Bristol Rovers in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday has been called off and rearranged for December 12, with the playing surface deemed unsafe.

A number of Scottish Professional Football League matches were likewise postponed ahead of the weekend, with Dundee United’s trip to face Morton at Cappielow called off and the game between Ayr and Arbroath at Somerset Park.

Saturday’s high-profile racing fixture at Newcastle, which was due to stage the return of the Constitution Hill, has been abandoned due to snow on the track.

The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued amber cold health alerts in five regions: the East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, North East and Yorkshire and the Humber until December 5, meaning “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.