Met Office issues snow and ice warning as yellow alert engulfs Britain

A yellow warning for ice has been put in place until 10am tomorrow, Saturday.

The weather is expected to stay cloudy and wet across the south on Friday, but is likely to clear later on in the day.

Forecaster Marco Petagna said: "We’ve got colder air starting to feed in from the north and that’s gradually going to push its way south across all parts for the next 24 hours or so.

"As the air sinks down from the north, we’re going to see outbreaks of rain, with some snow mainly on the hills, although across parts of Scotland, it’s quite low levels, as things turn a bit more showery tonight.

"Until midday tomorrow, there’s a couple of snow and ice warnings out for Scotland and Northern England."

Mr Petagna said there will likely be "widespread frost" on Friday night, but added that Saturday will probably be "the best day we’ve seen for some time" with "a lot of sunshine across the UK."

A Met Office yellow warning comes into force from 4pm for much of northern Scotland and the Northern Isles, for a widespread risk of ice, with snow showers streaming in on a north wind.

On Saturday night, a second Met Office Yellow warning begins at 9pm, lasting until 10am on Sunday, covering all of Scotland and parts of the north of England.

National Highways said the A66 is closed between the A67 near Bowes in County Durham and the A685 near Brough in Cumbria because of "concentrated snowfall".

It added: “National Highways area team crews are on scene with winter treatment vehicles working to clear and treat the carriageway, however forecasts predict that snowfall will continue in the area throughout the morning."

They continued: "Units from Cumbria Police are also on scene assisting to clear the traffic.

"Road users travelling across the Pennines are advised to plan ahead and consider alternate routes."