Cold weather warning issued

A level 2 alert was issued for the North West and across northern England, today, Thursday, meaning there is at least a 60 per cent chance of severe weather at the weekend.

The average temperature is also likely to drop to below two degrees over the period of the alert, from Friday evening until Monday morning.

Frank Saunders, Chief Operational Meteorologist said: “The weather will turn much colder from the north through Friday and for the weekend.

“Strong to gale force north to northwest winds are expected Friday night into Saturday with severe gales likely for a time near eastern coasts, giving a marked wind chill.

“Overnight frosts are expected widely, with localised icy conditions possible where wintry showers occur.

“A band of showers moving south across eastern parts of England on Friday night will turn increasingly wintry with some snow, especially over hills and some slight accumulation is possible.

“Over the weekend a wintry mix of showers could affect all areas, but with accumulations mainly over hills. However, milder air is expected to spread in from the west during Monday.”

Dr Angie Bone of Public Health England (PHE) is reminding people to look out for others, to keep warm indoors and to take care when out and about.

She said: “Cold does kill, even in places where the temperatures aren’t at their lowest. Most of our advice on keeping warm in cold weather may seem like common sense, it’s important that we make the point that people should think about how cold can affect them.

“Our advice is that when indoors, have plenty of warm food and drinks to stay warm and try to maintain indoor temperatures to at least 18°C, particularly if you have to sit still for long periods, have long term illness or are 65 or over.

“This is also a good time to think about how the bad weather may affect your friends and family, particularly if they are older or very young or have pre-existing health conditions.”