Snow warning as map shows areas at risk from 415 mile blast in hours

A weather warning has been issued for England and Wales that within a few hours, snow could hit areas right through to Sunday.

Netweather forecaster, Nick Finnis shared the information via a post on X along with a “Sat & Sun snow risk map” picture to his followers earlier today (January 4).

The post reads: “SAT & SNOW RISK MAP.

“An elongating area of low pressure moving in from the southwest will spread occluding fronts northeast ahead of it across England & Wales rest of today/tonight.

“Fronts grinding to a halt over N England, Wales and Ireland on Sun, as they pivot around low centre moving NE & exiting E England Sun evening – so significant snow accumulations likely in these areas.

“Temporary accumulations for S Wales, Midlands, S England to E Anglia – where milder air will spread in tonight and linger through tomorrow. Risk of heavy rainfall and snow melt here could cause some localised flooding.”

The attached risk map shows regions across the country, with measurements indicating the likely snow accumulation in each area. Manchester and Sheffield are within the areas that will be affected the most.

The map reveals that parts of both cities are likely to be hit with snow that will be between 20-30cm.

Liverpool should expect snow between 5cm and 10m, as well as parts of Wales. Just Oxford, Cambridge and parts of London, the temporary accumulations should be under 5cm.

The UK Healthy Security Agency (UKHSA) issued amber cold health for all regions of England on Thursday, 2 January, with the alert ending January 8 and the weather expected to have “significant impacts” across various services.

The agency warned there will be a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 or with health conditions, with potential impacts on younger age groups as well. There will also be difficulty in keeping indoor temperatures at 18C, causing a risk to vulnerable people.

Regarding the weather alerts for Saturday and Sunday, the Met Office states: “Snow will become persistent and locally heavy as it pushes south to north across the warning area. As well as snow, a period of freezing rain is also likely bringing some hazardous travel conditions before milder air follows across all areas by Sunday morning.”