The Met Office have extended a weather warning as the North East braces itself for up to 20cm of snow and icy conditions heading into the weekend.
The leading meteorologists issued a yellow weather warning to the region earlier this week, forming part of a number that are in place across the country for wintry hazards as temperatures plummeted.
According to their forecasts, the cold snap is set to bring the risk of sleet and snow in the North East with ice especially in coastal areas and overnight frost as we head towards the weekend.
Read more: Met Office gives long range weather forecast for Christmas and New Year in the North East
The Met Office said that the snow showers and icy surfaces will bring some travel chaos to the North East. They have now announced that their previous warning has been extended until 12pm on Friday (December 15), with more of the North York Moors also now included.
They forecast the following conditions over the coming days: "Wintry showers will affect many areas of northern Scotland and parts of northeast England, though tending to become fewer in number from later on Thursday.
"A few centimetres of snow are likely to accumulate at low levels with the potential for as much as 15-20 cm over higher ground.
"In addition, ice is likely to form on untreated surfaces, mainly where some of the showers fall as sleet close to coasts."
They have warned that the following forms of disruption are likely to occur in the coming days:
- Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services
- Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
- Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths
The UK will remain cold through this week with the risk of sleet and snow at times continuing, across northern and eastern locations.
Paul Gundersen, Met Office chief forecaster, said: “Over the last week, the UK has been held in a northerly airflow bringing cold, sometimes Arctic air, to the UK. We will still have this northerly influence to our weather patterns until the weekend, but then the cold conditions will lose exclusive dominance over the UK’s weather patterns and we will move into a regime where relatively mild and relatively cold conditions will vie for supremacy.
“We can expect changeable conditions with colder and milder air not too far away from our shores, but it does seem that the Atlantic ‘has woken up’ compared with recent days and will be a stronger influence, countering any further bouts of extreme cold conditions, although spells of further wintry weather remain possible through the rest of December.”
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