Snow could hit some parts of the region by Monday afternoon as the region braces itself a late Winter cold snap.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather alert for snow and ice for next week amid warnings that March 2023 could potentially end up being the coldest on record.
Although temperatures are forecast to plunge to as low as -5 in some rural areas, the North East may well miss the worst of the snow, with even Consett, in County Durham, just expecting to see snowfall on Monday afternoon with flurries clearing away overnight.
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However, the cold temperatures are set to stay well into next week, especially in more rural areas, with Durham expecting temperatures of as low as -5 on Wednesday, In central Newcastle, however, temperatures will only dip below freezing to -1 on Wednesday. Rural Northumberland will also bear the brunt of the cold, with Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Hexham both expecting the mercury to hit -3 or -4 on Wednesday.
It's now looking unlikely that urban areas such as Newcastle or Sunderland will see any snow at all, and Hexham and Morpeth also look clear, although Stanhope and Consett in rural County Durham and Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Alnwick in Northumberland are all likely to see snowfall on Monday or Tuesday.
All of the region will see colder temperatures than we have been used to, although again, the coldest days will be in the outlying areas, with rural County Durham seeing minus temperatures every day until Friday.
The regional outlook by the Met Office is: "Monday a band of rain quickly clears south, with colder but bright conditions following. Tuesday very cold with frequent snow showers. Wednesday potentially icy conditions initially, with coastal wintry showers," with the long-range forcast for the whole of the UK from Wednesday to March 17 is: "The start of this period is expected to be characterised by winds from the north bringing cold conditions to most areas with widespread frost and ice. This will most likely result in wintry showers, these turning more organised at times in the north and east. Under this regime, some areas are likely to remain drier with some sunshine, the best of this across inland areas and in the south and west of the UK. From the second half of next week onwards, milder conditions seem likely to push erratically north, with spells of rain and snow likely at times - which could be disruptive in places, at least at first. Temperatures overall will be below average but may gradually trend up later.
The Met Office uses a system of yellow, amber and red weather warnings, with yellow being the least serious. According to its website, yellow warnings can be issued when it is likely that the weather will cause some low level impacts, including some disruption to travel in a few places. Other yellow warnings are issued when the weather could bring much more severe impacts to the majority of people but the certainty of those impacts occurring is much lower.
For the yellow warning issued for the coming week, The Met Office website says:
- There is 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 a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off.
- A small chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces.
- There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected.
The weather warning for snow and ice is in place for the duration of March 6 and 7, from midnight to midnight each day, although the cold temperatures are forecasted to go beyond that.
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