Snow brings disruption amid yellow and amber weather warnings

Heavy overnight snow and rain is causing disruption across Wales as the cold start to the new year continues.

Two weather warnings from the Met Office have been put in place in Wales, with 3cm to 7cm of snowfall predicted for much of the affected area, mixing with rain at times in lower-lying areas.

One amber warning for snow and freezing rain, which covers much of North Wales and the Midlands as far north as Manchester, is in place until midday on Sunday.

Thaw

Higher ground in Wales 15cm to 30cm of snow, the forecaster said, with milder air leading to a rapid thaw in the south of the warning area through Sunday.

The Met Office said some rural communities could be cut off, with up to 40cm of snow on ground above 300m before conditions ease later on Sunday.

As well as snow, National Highways warned rain may initially fall on frozen ground and lead to ice, with areas of high ground most at risk.

The National Grid said it had been working to restore power after outages across South Wales on Saturday. The company’s live map shows power cuts across the region on Sunday morning.

As well as the amber warnings, the Met Office has issued yellow warnings covering almost the entire country across the weekend.

A yellow warning for snow and ice covers most of the remaining parts of England and Wales until midnight, while a similar warning covers large parts of Northern Ireland from 6pm on Sunday.

There is also a yellow warning for rain covering much of Wales and the West Midlands on Sunday from 6am to 9pm.

Risks

Amber alerts were issued on Thursday and will run until Wednesday, meaning a rise in deaths is unfortunately possible, the agency said.

After experiencing freezing rain for a time, the south will turn milder.

Frost and icy patches will continue through the early part of the week, but Monday and Tuesday will become drier with sunny spells and scattered wintry showers. Wednesday will be cloudier with hazy sunshine.

Wintry showers are possible in the south early on Thursday before Friday becomes more settled ahead of a cloud and rain in the west before largely settled conditions from next weekend.