The Met Office has issued new yellow weather warnings for snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain and ice across most of the UK this weekend as an Arctic maritime air mass brings bitterly cold conditions. The warnings, which cover travel disruption, are in place until Sunday morning.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in effect from Friday afternoon through Saturday morning for northern Scotland, coastal north-east England, Yorkshire, Wales, south-west England, the Midlands, East of England and London. Northern Ireland is under an ice warning from 8pm Friday to 10am Saturday. A further snow and ice warning for Scotland and northern England runs from 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday, with potentially heavy snow and freezing rain expected.
The wintry weather is likely to cause hazardous ice on untreated roads and pavements, leading to travel disruption. National Highways reported that the A66 across the Pennines was closed due to concentrated snowfall, with crews working to clear the carriageway. Road users are advised to plan ahead and consider alternate routes.
The UK Health Security Agency has issued yellow cold weather alerts for northern England and the Midlands from Friday morning to Monday morning, warning of increased risk to life for vulnerable people and greater demand on healthcare services.
This cold snap follows an exceptionally wet start to 2026, with parts of Devon, Cornwall and Worcestershire experiencing rain for 40 days. On Friday, 76 flood warnings and 154 flood alerts were in place in England, along with four flood alerts in Wales. In Aberdeen, 21 consecutive days without sunshine ended briefly on Thursday afternoon with just 30 minutes of sun.
