London weather: Met Office issues yellow snow warning for capital this weekend

It might not have been a White Christmas, but apparently, it could be a White January for London.

The Met Office has issued a snow warning for the capital this weekend. The alert covers all of Greater London.

The yellow weather warning goes into effect at midday on Saturday (January 4th) and ends at 9 a.m. on Monday (January 6th).

The forecaster has warned that “heavy snow may cause disruption over the weekend.” The warning covers most of England, Wales, and parts of Scotland.

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The Met Office is warning Londoners that there is a chance of road travel delays and cancelled rail services. It also suggested there is a ‘small chance’ of power cuts.

At the time of publishing the weather warning is quite expansive and the Met Office has said it is likely this will be refined over the coming days.

While the warning is in place, the individual forecast for Greater London shows rain for the majority of the weekend.

In the coming days, Londoners can expect freezing temperatures overnight - especially tonight (January 2nd) when temperatures will dip to -2C.

Paul Gundersen is a Chief Forecaster for the Met Office. He said: “The coastal gales and rain in the south of the UK will ease by the late afternoon of New Year’s Day, while at the other end of the country wintry showers are starting to feed into northern Scotland.

“Northern parts of the UK are already experiencing colder conditions but by Thursday morning the much colder air will reach remaining parts of the south and southeast.

“Overnight we have a series of National Severe Weather Warnings in place with a combined yellow warning for both snow and ice for northern Scotland, while a yellow ice warning is in place as far south as the Midlands.

“Standing water remaining from the heavy rainfall of the last few days will freeze, creating a risk for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians navigating untreated surfaces. Wintry showers remain a hazard especially for north-facing coasts and hills.”