Met Office Issues Yellow Weather Warnings for Snow Across 13 English Counties
The Met Office, the United Kingdom's national weather service, has officially named thirteen counties in England that are facing significant snow threats before Monday. The forecasting agency has activated a series of yellow weather warnings, which are currently in effect for Friday, February 13, Saturday, February 14, and Sunday, February 15. These alerts highlight the potential for hazardous winter conditions across multiple regions.
Detailed Forecast and Expected Impacts
According to the detailed meteorological advisory, outbreaks of rain are predicted to spread eastwards on Saturday night. Initially, this precipitation will fall as snow, even at lower elevations, before becoming confined to higher ground as milder air arrives from the west. Temporary snow accumulations are anticipated to range from 1 to 3 centimeters at low levels, with 3 to 7 centimeters possible above approximately 150 meters in elevation. In areas above 400 meters, accumulations could reach 10 to 15 centimeters.
The Met Office specifically notes that regions sheltered to the north of high ground may experience very little snowfall. However, ice will present an additional hazard, particularly across northeast England and parts of Scotland, where precipitation has the potential to fall on frozen ground, leading to extremely slippery conditions.
Expert Analysis and Regional Breakdown
Nick Finnis, a meteorologist from Netweather TV, provided further insight into the developing weather pattern. He explained that colder air is already moving across Scotland and the far north of England, with temperatures hovering just above freezing. Any precipitation brought in off the North Sea on a keen northeasterly breeze is falling as snow inland, with persistent sleet and snow reported across southern Scotland along an occluded front.
Further south, a low-pressure system moving southeast across Ireland is expected to push a frontal system eastward, bringing showery rain across southern areas. Meanwhile, an occluded frontal system straddling Northern Ireland will move east over northern England, resulting in outbreaks of rain that will increasingly turn to sleet and hill snow as colder air from Scotland undercuts from the north.
List of Affected Counties
The thirteen counties in England under yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are as follows:
- Durham
- Northumberland
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- North Lincolnshire
- North Yorkshire
- Derbyshire
- Cheshire East
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Lancashire
- Staffordshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
Residents in these areas are advised to stay updated with the latest forecasts from the Met Office and to exercise caution when traveling, as conditions may change rapidly. The snow is expected to turn increasingly to rain into Sunday morning, possibly as a short spell of freezing rain in some locations, before eventually clearing to the east with a steady thaw of lying snow setting in thereafter.
