The Met Office has issued new yellow weather warnings for snow, sleet, hail, and icy conditions across most of the UK this weekend, as an Arctic blast of very cold air moves southwards. The warnings, which cover potential travel disruption, are in place until Sunday morning.
From 4pm Friday to 10am Saturday, warnings for snow, sleet, and hail showers apply to northern Scotland and coastal areas of north-east England and Yorkshire. Ice warnings are in effect for Wales, south-west England, northern England, the Midlands, and the east of England down to London between 5pm Friday and 10am Saturday. Northern Ireland also has an ice warning from 8pm Friday to 10am Saturday.
A further snow and ice warning covers Scotland and northern England from 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday, with forecasters predicting potentially heavy snow and freezing rain. Hazardous ice on untreated roads and pavements is expected, leading to difficult travel conditions.
National Highways reported that the A66 across the Pennines was closed due to concentrated snowfall, with crews working to clear the carriageway. The UK Health Security Agency has issued yellow cold weather alerts for northern England and the Midlands from Friday to Monday, warning of increased risk to vulnerable people.
This wintry weather follows a wet start to 2026 for parts of the UK, with Devon, Cornwall, and Worcestershire experiencing 40 days of rain. Flood warnings remain in place across England and Wales, while Aberdeen saw 21 consecutive sunless days until Thursday afternoon.
