Heavy snowfall closes runways at airports including Manchester and Liverpool

The Met Office said Bingley in West Yorkshire saw 12cm of snow overnight.

Shap in Cumbria and Capel Curig in Gwynedd, Wales both saw 10cm of snow.

And Leeming in North Yorkshire saw 7cm.

Multiple weather warnings covering much of the UK remain in effect today, including two amber warnings for snow and ice.

Manchester, Liverpool, Carlisle and Newcastle are among the places covered by amber on the map.

Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon Airport have both closed their runways this morning due to heavy snow.

Manchester said its teams are working to clear them ‘as quickly as possible’.

It comes hours after Birmingham Airport suspended operations for several hours overnight ‘for snow clearing and safety reasons’, but said it was on schedule for ‘business as usual’ to start the morning.

Bristol Airport reopened around 11pm after an earlier closure but warned of delays on Sunday morning due to aircraft being out of position. All the affected airports, and Belfast International Airport, urged passengers to check with their airline.

Liverpool’s blockbuster Premier League game against Manchester United is at risk due to the severe weather conditions forecast for Merseyside on Sunday.

The runaway leaders will be hoping to extend their advantage at the top to eight points after Arsenal dropped two points at Brighton on Saturday and rub further salt into the wounds of their demoralised local rivals.

After flooding hit the area earlier this week, the north west is primed for more adverse weather conditions over the course of the next 24 hours.

The first service on each MerseyRail line will run without passengers on Sunday.

This is to allow the network to check tracks for ice before regular services resume.

There’s be no sneaking out without a trace tonight after snow settled in parts of the UK.

From Newport in Wales to Basingstoke in Hampshire and Greenwich in London, the snow is deep enough to display tyre tracks and footprints of anyone who’s passed through.

A landslip at Gobowen, Shropshire, has blocked railway lines, according to National Rail.

This is causing cancellations and 10-minute delays to trains running between Shrewsbury and Chester.

Disruption is expected to continue until 9pm on the following Transport for Wales services between:

• Cardiff Central and Llandudno Junction / Holyhead
• Shrewsbury and Wrexham General / Chester / Llandudno

This rare type of rain freezes almost instantly on impact, and it can be dangerous – but why?

First it falls from a cloud as snow. But the temperature doesn’t stay the same between there and the ground.

If it passes through warmer air on the way, it can melt and become a rain droplet.

But if this warm patch is followed by more cold air just before the droplet reaches the surface, it can become ‘supercooled’.

Even if its temperature is below zero, it’s still falling as a liquid – until it hits the ground and freezes on impact.

This coats the ground in a layer of clear ice – or black ice.

Because you can’t see it, this can prove dangerous – even fatal – for drivers, causing them to skid and crash on roads.

People have been warned to stay away from water in the icy and snowy conditions.

The Port of London Authority warned people on X this morning to ‘exercise caution near the Thames’.

The Canal & River Trust has advice on staying safe near water during the winter – that includes planning your route, taking a friend and slowing down.

It also advises that you keep to well-lit areas and take a phone.

Heavy snow is expected tonight across a wide area of the UK while rain pushes north eastwards, turning to snow in the colder air.

The Pennies could see up to 40cm of snow with the risk of rural communities becoming cut off.

In lower levels of Wales and the Midlands there will be between 3 and 7cm of snow.

But there could be between 10 and 20cm of snow tomorrow morning across the higher ground of Wales, the Midlands and the south Pennines.

Accumulations of 5cm of snow into tomorrow morning for Northern Ireland in the south-east are expected as snow pushes further north.

There could be 15-30cm of snow across Wales and the Peak District.

An amber weather warning has now been issued for the Isle of Man.

It is in place from 11pm on Saturday until the early hours of Monday morning.

Routes above 500ft (152m) will be pre-salted on Saturday evening, the Manx government announced.

Both the Mountain Road and Sloc Road are expected to be closed from 10pm.

Forecasters are warning of ‘significant amounts of snow’ for higher ground on Sunday, and also of ‘overhead power line icing’ and the risk of drifting snow in blizzard conditions.

Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said some ‘significant accumulations’ of snow are possible in parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England.

There is also a risk of strengthening winds that could lead to drifting of lying snow.

He said: ‘There is a risk of freezing rain across parts of the Midlands and northern England, but especially Wales, adding to the risk of ice and leading to some treacherous conditions in places.

‘As the super-cooled rain droplets hit the surface they instantly freeze, covering everything in a layer of ice, making it extremely dangerous.’

It comes after a seven-month-old baby died on Thursday night following a crash, with police investigating whether it was linked to icy conditions.

A rare amber health alert has been issued while temperatures begin to plummet across the UK, with a rise in deaths ‘likely’.

The UK Health Security Agency has released the alert across England as the start of 2025 sees a bitter cold snap.

The Met Office has issued amber and yellow weather warnings covering nearly all of England and Wales and parts of Scotland for Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

But where is it expected to snow? Check out below:

As the UK is hit with freezing temperatures, some households may be eligible for a special payment for cold weather.

If the mercury drops to 0°C or below for seven days in a row in a particular postcode, people living there could qualify for a special payment of £25 to help with their heating costs.

This is separate to the Winter Fuel Payment, a benefit for pensioners which hit the headlines when the government announced plans to means test it last summer.

Low income households in England and Wales are eligible for Cold Weather Payments between November and March if the weather is particularly wintry.

Check out the full list in the link below.

Due to the icy conditions and cold weather some football games and other sports have been cancelled.

Below are the sporting fixtures that have been cancelled so far:

• Cheltenham’s match against League Two leaders Walsall;
• Halifax’s National League home game against Fylde;
• A race at Newcastle Racecourse has also been cancelled due to the course being frozen.

The Met Office has updated its yellow weather warnings in the past hour.

The Shetland Islands in Scotland has now been issued with a yellow weather warning for snow that will come into place from 10am until 8pm today.

Scotland already has another yellow weather warning for ice for northern Scotland from 6pm on Saturday until 10am on Sunday.

There is also a yellow warning of snow and ice in place in Northern Ireland from 9pm today until 6pm on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a yellow weather warning for rain for parts of Wales and western parts of England will come into force from 6am on Sunday. The alert ends at 9pm on Sunday.

Temperatures of minus 10C were forecast in parts of rural Scotland on Friday night, according to a Met Office forecast.

The coldest temperature recorded in January last year was minus 14C, in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands.

Stranded vehicles on the roads, delayed or cancelled rail and air travel and power cuts are all likely as the country grapples with a week-long spell of wintry conditions, the Met Office said.

There is also a ‘good chance’ that rural communities could be cut off thanks to the weather, with up to 30cm of snowfall expected in some areas.