The Met Office has significantly expanded its weather warnings, forecasting a fresh wave of snow and ice to sweep across the entire Midlands region this Sunday and into Monday.
Updated Forecasts Bring Wider Disruption
Weather experts have updated their predictions, indicating that the expected snowfall will now spread further across the Midlands than initially anticipated. The white stuff is set to arrive from late afternoon on Sunday and persist through the evening. Initially, a yellow warning for snow and ice was in place for parts of the West Midlands, including Birmingham, the Black Country, Staffordshire and Shropshire.
However, a new warning now also covers the eastern part of Birmingham, as well as Coventry, Nottingham and Leicester. This alert will be active from 8pm on Sunday until 11am on Monday. An earlier warning for the west of the region begins at noon on Sunday.
Potential for Significant Accumulation and Travel Chaos
The snow is expected to move in from the west, passing over from Wales into the Midlands during Sunday evening. The Met Office warns that while not every location will see snow, 1-3 cm could accumulate widely by Monday morning, with 5-8 cm possible in a few spots, particularly across inland and higher parts of Wales.
This has raised serious concerns about travel disruption on Monday, which marks the first normal working week of the new year. Icy stretches are likely to form widely on untreated surfaces, compounding the hazards.
Official Met Office Guidance
In its forecast, the Met Office stated: "Snow showers are expected to push further inland across Wales, parts of north-west England, the West Midlands and south-west England during Sunday afternoon and evening." They added in a new update: "A band of snow showers will move south during Sunday evening and into the early hours of Monday, giving a covering of 1-3 cm of snow in places and leading to ice on untreated surfaces. Further snow showers are likely across eastern England during Monday morning."
Residents across the Midlands are advised to prepare for difficult travel conditions and to check the latest forecasts and travel advice before embarking on journeys on Sunday evening and Monday morning.
