Met Office issues snow and ice warnings as temperatures plummet
Scattered weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across the UK as temperatures plunged below freezing overnight.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings through Saturday morning for the northern coast and south-west of Scotland, as well as the south-west and the eastern coast of England.
Forecasters warn the snowy conditions could affect some roads and railways, while there is an increased risk of injury from icy surfaces.
Glasgow airport has suspended all flights temporarily due to snow.
“Flight operations are currently suspended due to heavier than forecast snow,” the airport said on X. “Our winter teams have been working through the night and we hope to resume operations as soon as possible. “Please check with your airline for further flight updates.”
The mercury approached -10C (14F) in some places overnight, with Tulloch Bridge and Eskdalemuir in Scotland reaching -8C.
Temperatures are tipped to continue to fall over the weekend, with several sporting events cancelled amid snowfall and icy conditions.
The Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said it would be -3C or -4C for many towns and cities on Saturday.
She said: “There’ll … be some snow showers continuing across south-western Scotland throughout Saturday morning, mainly falling over the high ground above one or 200 metres, but there could be some sleetiness [sic] to lower levels across parts of the Lake District, for example, by lunchtime.
“Elsewhere, though we’ll see the mist and fog slowly clear, it could remain quite murky for a lot of the morning across central and eastern areas.
“The best sunshine will be across northern areas of Scotland, but further south and west, you can see things starting to change a little bit [by Saturday afternoon] with a greater risk of some showers.”
She said as winds shifted to more south-westerly, temperatures would slowly rise through Saturday, feeling a little less cold in the south-west.
“Elsewhere, though still feeling bitterly cold, not much above freezing,” she added.
“Those showers in the south-west then do push further inland throughout Saturday night, and as they bump into the colder air, they could bring some snow to parts of Wales and central areas such as the Peak District, for example.
“There is a little of uncertainty with that one, but it’s only likely to bring a little dusting of snow by Sunday morning.”
The forecaster said the lowest temperature recorded on Friday was -9.4C in Shap in Cumbria.
The areas with the most snow on Friday were Aviemore, Invernesshire, with 5cm; Albemarle, Northumberland (2cm); Bingley, West Yorkshire (2cm); and Loftus, Cleveland (1cm).
Crewe’s match with Bristol Rovers in the second round of the FA Cup on Saturday has been called off and rearranged for 12 December after the playing surface was deemed unsafe.
A number of Scottish Professional Football League matches have also been postponed, with Dundee United’s trip to face Morton at Cappielow called off and the game between Ayr and Arbroath at Somerset Park.
Saturday’s high-profile racing fixture at Newcastle, which was due to stage the return of Constitution Hill, has been abandoned due to snow on the track.
The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued amber cold health alerts in five regions: the east Midlands, West Midlands, north-west, north-east and Yorkshire and the Humber until 5 December, meaning “cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time”.