The Met Office has issued new yellow weather warnings for snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain and icy conditions across most of the UK this weekend, as an Arctic maritime air mass brings very cold air from the north of Scotland southwards. The warnings, which cover potential travel disruption, are in place until Sunday morning.
From 4pm Friday until 10am Saturday, snow, sleet and hail showers are expected in northern Scotland and coastal areas of north-east England and Yorkshire. A separate ice warning applies from 5pm Friday to 10am Saturday across Wales, south-west England, northern England, the Midlands, the east of England and London. Northern Ireland is also under an ice warning from 8pm Friday to 10am Saturday.
A further snow and ice yellow warning comes into effect from 9pm Saturday to 10am Sunday, covering Scotland and northern England, with forecasters predicting potentially heavy snow and freezing rain. The wintry conditions are expected to cause hazardous ice on untreated roads and pavements.
National Highways reported that the A66 across the Pennines was closed between Bowes in County Durham and Brough in Cumbria 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 morning until Monday, warning of increased risk to life for vulnerable people.
The cold snap follows a wet start to 2026, with parts of Devon, Cornwall and Worcestershire experiencing 40 days of rain. As of Friday, 76 flood warnings and 154 flood alerts were in place in England, with four flood alerts in Wales. Aberdeen endured 21 days without sun until a brief 30-minute appearance on Thursday afternoon.
