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UK weather: Britain could face an ever colder night on Sunday as snow falls across country and warnings issued

The Met Office said: “Our main message today is to stay at home, if you don’t need to travel don’t."

Molly Fleming
Sunday 10 December 2017 12:18 GMT
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Met Office weather forecast: Sunday 10th December

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The UK is experiencing the worst snowfall in years as an even colder night was predicted for Sunday night, with the Met Office warning of chaos for commuters on Monday.

Around 10cm to 20cm of snow was expected to fall today across the Midlands, northern and eastern England and Wales amid fears rural areas could become completely cut off.

Saturday night was the coldest night of the year with -11C recorded in Dalwhinnie, Scotland but “there is a high chance it could be colder tonight”, forecasters warned.

“We’re likely to see it keep snowing today but it will gradually peter out by the end of night but due to tonight’s cold weather it is likely there will be more issues tomorrow.”

An amber warning was issued for central UK yesterday but has now been updated to cover more of the South Midlands, parts of Gloucestershire and northern Home Counties.

Amber warning means that areas affected will see 10cm to 20cm of snow with some disruption while London has been given a separate yellow warning which means 2cm to 5cm.

The Met Office said: “Our main message today is to stay at home, if you don’t need to travel don’t and keep track of weather updates as it could change.”

Flights have been temporarily suspended at Birmingham Airport due to the heavy snow with flights due to resume once the airport has cleared the runway.

The airport said on its website: "Our teams are working hard to get flights in/out as soon as they can”.

In preparation for icy conditions Highways England have warned motorists to pack a winter kit with blankets, warm clothes and a shovel, as travel services brace themselves for delays.

South Western Railways has also warned that it is being affected by high winds in the south, with some routes given speed restrictions.

Despite snow expected to stop during the night commuters should prepare themselves for more issues tomorrow.

“It won’t be falling out of the sky on Monday morning but it will could be faced with a tricky commute,” the Met Office said.

The last time we had a warning of this scale, with so much of the UK affected, was 22 March 2013.

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