London weather forecast: Warnings issued as ‘heavy snow’ and ice to blanket capital and South East

Up to 10cm of the white stuff is expected to fall between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning

London and the South East are expected to bear the brunt of an Arctic blast as heavy snow and ice hit, bringing travel disruption and power cuts.

Up to 10cm of snow is expected to fall overnight on Tuesday evening, turning to ice on Wednesday morning.

The capital is set to be worst affected but the East of England, Midlands and South West will also be hit by the wintry weather.

Weather warnings of snow and ice are in place from 9pm Tuesday to 12pm Wednesday in these places.

Snowfall of up to 3cm is likely to be widespread but some areas could see up to 10cm, especially over higher ground.

The Met Office has warned of “a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel”.

There is also a “slight chance” some rural areas could be cut off and that power cuts will cause disruption to services, such as mobile phone coverage.

The public has also been warned of the risk of slips and falls on icy surfaces.

Forecasters predicted there could be also be some snow over higher ground in Scotland and northern England on Monday evening, while much of the UK will wake to a cold and frosty start on Tuesday morning.

London is expected to see highs of just 4C or 5C this week.

Temperatures will hover around zero most nights, potentially plunging to -3C on Wednesday.

Forecaster Ellie Creed said: “It’s a case of normal wintry hazards that we would expect – snow, ice, frost are going to be quite prevalent over the next few days.”

The cold snap comes after parts of the UK were battered by 70mph winds over the weekend.

Areas of Wales were left without electricity on Sunday after overhead cables were brought down.

Transport for London (TfL) has insisted London will not grind to a standstill amid the predicted snowfall.

A spokeswoman told the Evening Standard all transport agencies would be “working around the clock to minimise disruption” to Tube, bus, rail and road networks.