The Met Office has issued a yellow fog warning for parts of England and Wales, with dense fog expected to cause transport delays and difficult travel conditions. The warning is in force from 6pm on Monday until 10am on Tuesday, covering an area stretching from Luton to Manchester.
Forecasters predict a "night of dense fog" across central and northern England and Wales, with visibility expected to drop below 100 metres at times. Slower journey times and delays to public transport are possible, along with a chance of flight delays or cancellations.
Travel advice issued
The Met Office has advised travellers to "amend journeys if necessary" as fog develops on Monday evening and becomes dense overnight. The forecaster said: "Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, leaving extra journey time, or amending plans if necessary."
The fog is expected to thin and clear during Tuesday morning, giving way to cooler and frosty weather later in the week.
Meteorologists explain conditions
Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said: "Persistent high pressure has brought light winds and clear skies, allowing fog to form, while weak November sunshine has meant it is fairly slow to clear." He added: "We're expecting one more night of dense fog, with a warning in place for some areas. Increasing cloud and wind should then limit further widespread fog from developing."
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said in the daily video forecast that poor visibility on Monday is "thickening overnight". He said: "Yellow fog warning in force for parts of central England, North Wales, northern England, East Anglia, because of the possibility of visibilities getting below 100 metres."
McGivern also warned of "freezing fog patches" for central and southern Scotland, adding: "And it's a cold night in the northern half of the UK, with temperatures widely in the low single figures, and in some sheltered spots where we get the clear skies, minus three to minus five celsius."
Rain and colder air ahead
Outbreaks of rain are expected in the far north of Scotland, with a cold front set to introduce colder air across many parts of the UK through the week. An occluded weather front moving into the South and South West is expected to bring a wet start to Tuesday for south-west England, with rain pushing into South and central Wales and other southern coastal counties of England.
Cloud and outbreaks of rain will spread north across much of England and Wales on Tuesday, with "heavier bursts" possible in the South West later in the day, according to the Met Office.
Areas covered by the warning
The 43 areas covered by the yellow weather warning are: Derby, Derbyshire, Leicester, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, Bedford, Cambridgeshire, Central Bedfordshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Luton, Norfolk, Peterborough, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Cheshire East, Cheshire West, Chester, Greater Manchester, Gloucestershire, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Powys, Wrexham, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, East Riding of Yorkshire, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.
