by The UK is expected to see heavier snowfall on Monday as frigid conditions spread to more parts of northern and eastern England after the Met Office issued a yellow warning alert following the arrival of arctic air.
Up to 5-10cm of snow is likely to accumulate over northern Scotland, which has been hit by chilly conditions since Sunday with fears of temperatures plummeting to -10C.
Near-freezing temperatures are expected in other areas as rain, sleet and snow slowly move south, while highs are also expected in the single digits.
There will be a maximum temperature of 7°C in Greater London, while the minimum temperature can drop to 0°C.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said up to 20 cm (4 inches) of snow could fall on high ground, with up to 10 cm possible in lower regions.
Snow and ice were spreading to north-west England and north-east Scotland as of midnight Sunday and could creep further down the east coast to Hull on Tuesday.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued a cold weather alert, putting north-east England, north-west England and Yorkshire under alert level three, with the rest of England on alert level two.
A level three alert means there is a 90 per cent chance of extremely cold weather, ice or heavy snow, which could increase the health risk for vulnerable patients, the NHS said.
All areas are on alert from Monday 1am to Thursday midnight.
Showers are expected to continue into Monday night and ice is likely to form on untreated surfaces where snow has melted during the day.
Areas under the Met Office yellow weather warning are:
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Angus
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Dundee
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pipe
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Perth and Kinross
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Aberdeen
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Aberdeenshire
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moray eel
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Na h-Eileanan Siar
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highlands
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darlington
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durham
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Gateshead
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Hartlepool
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Mittelbrough
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Newcastle upon Tyne
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North Tyneside
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Northumberland
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Redcar and Cleveland
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South Tyneside
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Stockton-on-Tees
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sunderland
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Orkney Islands
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Shetland Islands
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East Lothian
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Midloth Council
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Scottish Borders
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North Yorkshire
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for snow in north-east Scotland, including Shetland, from 6pm on Sunday.
“Very cold air” will spread across the UK later in the week, according to deputy chief meteorologist Chris Almond.
“This brings snow even down to low levels in the north and east through Monday and Tuesday, and more than 10cm could accumulate, most likely on higher ground in the north, but also at lower levels for some time.”
James Coles, team leader at Moffat Mountain Rescue, pointed out that conditions in upland areas, particularly in the mountains, can change very quickly and can differ markedly from the surrounding lowland areas.
Meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “We could potentially see some of the coldest temperatures yet this year. The lowest we’ve seen was in January at -10.4°C, so we could see things getting a little lower.
“We expect between 5cm and 10cm of snow on higher ground. So if we see more accumulations between 2cm and 5cm on deeper ground we could see some travel disruption Monday through Tuesday.”
Areas affected by the warnings could face power outages, delays in road, rail and air travel, icy surfaces and some rural communities cut off by freezing conditions.
It is important to take extra precautions when traveling in these areas, especially when it is necessary to walk in snow and ice.
