Heavy snow expected to bring weekend disruption to parts of UK

Up to 8cm of snow is expected to fall in parts of the UK, with warnings that some areas could be left isolated.

The temperature could be about 0C (32F) in areas of eastern England and parts of Scotland for much of Saturday.

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for heavy snow across eastern England, with people told to expect travel delays, power cuts and a chance that rural communities could be cut off.

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People in East Anglia woke up on Saturday to a thick layer of snow that had settled overnight, with the conditions expected to continue until the afternoon.

Snowfall forced all three rapid Covid testing centres in Luton to shut. The council said the decision was made to protect public and staff safety, but the closure of the sites at Lewsey and Farley community centres and at Luton central library drew an angry online reaction from residents.

Some complained of a lack of snow and described the move as “utterly embarrassing”.

In London, residents of of Hampstead awoke to a rare blanket of snow that had fallen overnight.

Much of England and Scotland have a yellow snow alert in place, which will last until Saturday evening. Between 4cm and 8cm could fall in the worst-affected regions, and the Met Office has advised drivers to accelerate gently and to leave a large gap between surrounding vehicles.

Parts of Wales and Northern Ireland will be mostly cloudy, with some bands of rain in the northern regions.

Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office forecaster, said: “Areas in eastern England and around the M25 could see up to 8cm of snow, especially as Saturday progresses. Other areas in England and Scotland will see some snowfall here and there, with Saturday being the colder of the two days over the weekend.

“Temperatures are unlikely to rise above 10C, with a lot of areas closer to freezing.”

The Met Office has also issued a yellow rain warning for Monday evening, which will last until Wednesday.

The warning, which covers parts of north-west England and large swathes of Wales, says to expect heavy downpours with some snowmelt across hilly areas.

It means these areas could see flooding to roads and buildings, with delays to public transport.

There were also 25 flood warnings across England on Saturday, stretching from the south-east to the north-east, meaning “immediate action is required”, according to the Environment Agency. Rain is expected to clear in the evening, going into Sunday, when southern and eastern parts of the UK will experience dry, sunny spells.

North-western regions are expected to have showers, with a spell of more persistent rain later on in the day.