Met Office warns 'heavy snow' possible in East of England at weekend as yellow warning issued

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for potentially heavy snow which may cause disruption over the weekend.

The warning covers the East of England, although forecasters are suggesting the risk will be greater in parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England, especially over hills.

Outbreaks of rain spreading northeastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday are likely to be preceded by a spell of snow.

The Met Office said: "While there is a fair bit of uncertainty as to how far north this may spread, and how long any snow will last, significant accumulations of snow are possible, especially (but not exclusively) on hills.

"Currently, parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England are most at risk of disruption, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of Wales and/or the Pennines.

"This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow."

The warning said there may also be some freezing rain in southern and central areas, which will add to a risk of ice. "If milder air is able to spread more bodily northwards, any snow in southern parts of the warning area may be relatively short-lived before turning to rain."

Forecasters said the exact details of the forecast were still uncertain, and would be refined over the coming days.

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