Amber warning for snow as freezing cold snap grips UK

A snow plough drives through snow in Carrbridge in the Scottish Highlands on Wednesday

Wintry weather is set to continue across the UK on Thursday - with temperatures forecast to fall below zero overnight, and snow and ice affecting some areas.

Met Office yellow warnings are in place for Northern Ireland, northern and central Scotland, and coastal areas in south-west Wales, and south-west, east and north-east England.

A more severe amber warning is due to come into force later in the North York Moors and parts of the Yorkshire Wolds, where as much as 15-25cm (6-10ins) of snow could fall on higher ground.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also issued cold-health alerts for England until Saturday, saying there could be "significant" impacts to the elderly and people with health conditions.

Areas from London to Shetland saw snow on Wednesday.

There were dozens of school closures in north-east Scotland and the Highlands and road closures including on the Woodhead Pass between Hollingworth and Flouch in Derbyshire and the B4391 between Rhyd y Sarn and Pen y Bryn in north-west Wales.

Temperatures on Wednesday night could fall to as low as -5C (23F) in Scotland and northern England, and -3C (26.6F) in other parts of England and east Wales.

With a frost expected, areas where showers or rain and sleet have left the ground damp are at risk of ice becoming a hazard on roads and pavements. Forecasters warn that buses and trains may be cancelled or delayed.

But the conditions are unlikely to resemble the snowy and icy spell this time last year which closed hundreds of schools and saw 12cm of snow in Nottingham.

Over recent decades the Met Office have observed a decrease in the frequency, duration, and intensity of cold spells, clearly linked to climate change. According to the latest State of the Climate Report, external, air and ground frosts have reduced by around a quarter since the 1980s.

Yellow warnings

There are yellow warnings for snow and ice on Thursday in:

• Cornwall and parts of Devon, and Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Swansea until 23:59 GMT

• North East England, SW Scotland and Lothian Borders, Yorks & Humber until 23:59 GMT

• Central and northern Scotland until 21:00 GMT

• Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire until 11:00 GMT

• Northern Ireland until 12:00 GMT

'Thundersnow'

The village of Leadgate in County Durham woke up to snow on Wednesday morning

Thursday's amber warning for North Yorkshire is in place from 03:00 to 2100 GMT. Forecasters say snow is expected throughout the day, mostly on hills above 100m elevation and could lead to "substantial disruption".

They say it is possible some areas, including the North York Moors and the Highlands of Scotland, could see what is known as thundersnow.

It is is a phenomenon which happens when thunderstorms form in wintry weather and give rise to heavy falls of snow rather than rain.

Meanwhile, in Wales, the snow warning is linked to what forecasters dub the "Pembrokeshire Dangler". This is a line of showers that develop over the warmer waters of the Irish Sea and are pushed southwards over the county of Pembrokeshire in south-west Wales.

The Met Office amber warning issued for snow on Thursday affects the North Yorks Moors

Daytime temperatures in most areas of the UK on Thursday will reach between 4C and 6C.

Temperatures are expected to become milder by the weekend, rising to average levels by Saturday.

Amber cold-health alerts have been issued in England by the UKHSA until 08:00 GMT on Saturday for the North West, North East, and Yorkshire and Humber, with all other areas under less-severe yellow alerts.

The alerts are mainly for health and social care services, warning of "significant" impacts to more vulnerable members of the community.

Extra demands may be put on services to deal with colder weather.