More snow, ice and rain to hit UK and flood warnings in place

Warnings for snow, ice and rain are in place across parts of the UK, with areas in southern England being warned of flooding due to rain and melting snow caused by milder temperatures.

More than 100 flood warnings have been issued for parts of the south of England, meaning flooding is “expected” in these areas.

More than 260 flood alerts are in place in parts of England and Wales, which mean flooding is “possible”.

The Environment Agency said it is monitoring swollen rivers around the UK, with some close to bursting their banks.

It comes after snow and freezing rain swept across parts of the UK over the weekend, bringing cancellations and delays across the transport network.

An amber weather warning has been extended into Monday morning, but now covers a smaller area, spanning parts of Cumbria, Lancashire, and the Lake District. Less severe yellow weather warnings are in force for large parts of Scotland, Wales, and elsewhere in England.

Several airports were earlier forced to shut their runways, with Manchester and Liverpool able to reopen only on Sunday morning. Delays continued throughout the day.

The Met Office weather warnings in place are:

• An amber warning for snow across northern England has been extended until 06:00 GMT Monday, but now covers a smaller area
• Less severe yellow warnings for snow and ice cover most of Scotland, Wales, northern England, and the Midlands, up to midday on Monday in some cases
• Yellow warnings for rain are also in place across south Wales and southern England until Monday morning
• A yellow warning for ice covering most of Northern Ireland until 11:00 GMT

Amber warnings are more serious than yellow warnings and indicate a possible risk to life, as well as more significant travel disruption.

Temperatures are forecast to dip again from Monday to below average, with “widespread frost and the threat of ice” remaining, the Met Office said.

The agency said some rural communities could be cut off by snow, and some travel delays and power cuts are likely in northern England.

Up to 15cm more snow could fall in those areas, it added.

The lowest temperature recorded over Saturday night was in Loch Glascarnoch, Scotland (-11C), while heavy snow affected much of England and northern Wales.

Bingley in West Yorkshire had recorded 16cm of snow as of 09:00 on Sunday. In the late afternoon, heavy snow was still falling in Cumbria – with around 10cm lying in Shap – in the far north of England, and across southern Scotland.

There was also around 5cm of snow in many cities including Leeds and York, according to BBC Weather.