UK weather: Snow hits country before Storm Dennis brings blustery weekend

Wednesday is still ‘probably best day to venture outside’, Met Office spokesperson says

Snow and ice could cause trouble for parts of the UK before Storm Dennis brings a wet and blustery weekend, forecasters say.

The Met Office told commuters to expect delays to their journeys as northern England, Scotland and Ireland battled freezing conditions on Wednesday.

Ice and snow warnings running from Manchester through to northern Scotland are in place until midday, and more snow warnings will likely be issued tomorrow, a Met Office spokesperson said.

However, Wednesday was “probably the best day to try and venture outside for the rest of the week”, according to Steven Keates.

Most of the UK can expect showers and stronger winds from Thursday in the run-up to Storm Dennis, the spokesperson said.

Cumbria saw around 16cm of snow on Wednesday, which Mr Keates said was “probably the most snow we have had this winter”.

Snow has fallen across the Midlands and northern parts of the UK over the past few days as Storm Ciara – which battered the UK with strong winds and showers last weekend – subsided.

A rescue team in southern Scotland said they had helped stranded drivers caught up in bad weather conditions on Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, separate emergency volunteers battled “extreme blizzards” to recover a vehicle which had slipped off a road at a “remote location” in the Scottish Borders on Tuesday evening.

Snow may continue falling across the Pennines and in higher parts of Northern Ireland on Thursday, the Met Office spokesperson said.

Wet and windy weather is expected to pick up as the week draws to a close and Storm Dennis approaches, bringing powerful winds and heavy rain to most of the country.

Gusts of 50mph are expected, with more than 60mph possible over hills, coastal areas and exposed locations, the Met Office said.

Mr Keates said Storm Dennis will probably be “a notch down from Storm Ciara” in terms of wind.

However, forecasters have warned that the fresh storm could leave the country with power cuts and more travel disruption.

Predicted heavy rain could also run the risk of further flooding, with over 40 warnings still in place across the UK.

Additional reporting by Associated Press