Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

It looks set to be an unsettled day with showery outbreaks of rain for many areas and highs of 5°C 41°F).

Shropshire Star

Here are three stories from the Shropshire Star this morning:

• Tier 2 confirmed with support of Shropshire MPs
• Number of Covid patients at Shropshire hospitals triples in a month, external
• Shropshire libraries reopen, external

Depending on where you are in the West Midlands, you're either waking up in a tier two or a tier three area this morning.

The Shropshire, Telford, Herefordshire, Worcestershire and East Cheshire local authority areas have left lockdown under tier two restrictions.

All the other parts of the West Midlands, including Warwickshire, which had previously been in tier one, are now under tier three restrictions.

Temperatures should stay above freezing, but not by much.

And we could have a few showers later too.

Tonight it will remain cold and tomorrow we're expecting more showers.

Image source, Stormchaser Al

Businesses hope for a positive few weeks before Christmas as they reopen after lockdown.

Shropshire Star

From the Shropshire Star today:

• Lockdown leads to large drop in Shropshire covid cases, external
• Health boss urges residents to follow Tier 2 restrictions, external
• Shropshire leisure centres reopening, external

Shefali Oza
BBC Midlands Today

After a clear and cold start clouds increase with the chance of some patchy rain later with highs 4C to (45°F).

Shropshire Star

These are some of the Shropshire Star headlines:

• Shropshire MPs split after PM's letter to quell coronavirus tier rebellion, external
• £5.4 million industrial scheme in Telford to create more than 200 jobs, external
• More than 8,500 trees being given away by Telford council to fight climate change, external

Sara Blizzard
BBC Weather

It will be an overcast day with some patchy rain or drizzle and highs of 10°C (50°F).

The latest news, sport, travel and weather across the West Midlands and south Cheshire.

BBC Radio Shropshire

Shropshire and Telford could have been moved to tier three restrictions, if MPs and council leaders hadn't objected, the MP for the Wrekin has said.

Yesterday it was announced that both would be in tier two, but Mark Pritchard said there had been "temptation in some parts of government" to place the two authority areas in with the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Mr Pritchard also said: "Credit to all the MPs and indeed council leaders, for making the united case strongly together to say no we have much lower infection rates than the average in the West Midlands."

He described the return to tier two as a "half victory", but hoped it would allow businesses to operate and that restrictions would be further eased closer to Christmas.

Fog patches across the West Midlands could cause some travel disruption, the Met Office is warning.

Image source, Met Office

It has issued a yellow weather warning, external which is in place until 12:00.

Sara Thornton
BBC Weather

It will be a mostly dry but cold day with some patchy fog yet also bright spells and highs of 4°C (39°F).

A swathe of areas in the region will be placed in tier three - the highest alert category.

In case you're just joining us, here's a round-up of the news on post-lockdown tiers.

Five areas of the West Midlands will move in to tier two restrictions once lockdown ends - Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin and Cheshire.

All the others will be placed under tougher tier three restrictions.

There will be no parts of the West Midlands returning to tier one, although all this will be reviewed after a fortnight and some areas could be downgraded.

The government has explained the reasoning behind each of the decisions and generally speaking the areas with the higher infection rates and greatest pressure on the local NHS are in tier three.

A number of areas are in a different tier to the one they were in when lockdown started, with Warwickshire showing the biggest shift - up from tier one to tier three.

The Severn Valley Railway plans for life in tier two as England prepares to end lockdown.

Just four local authority areas in the West Midlands have escaped the toughest, tier three restrictions - Shropshire, Telford, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

The government hasn't explicitly said why these areas have been placed in tier two, but its explanatory notes reveal some of the thinking behind it.

For Shropshire and Telford it said the overall case rates and those for the over-60s remain high, but are both falling. They are also currently below the rates in tier three areas.

And there is no mention from the government of pressure on the local NHS being high - something which is included as a factor for the tier three areas.

That's not to say the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal hospitals won't be feeling the heat.

The reasoning for placing Herefordshire and Worcestershire in tier two is similar, with infection rates in decline, but the government also mentions that they are "too high for allocation to tier one". Suggesting perhaps they may be be on the borderline between tiers one and two.

BBC Weather

A dry day with any low patches of cloud and fog clearing away to leave sunny spells for most areas. There'll be gentle winds, turning chilly after sunset with a high today of 8C/46F.

Image source, BBC Weather Watcher Stormchaser Al

Dry and chilly tonight with clear spells to begin, before large areas of low cloud and fog move in. Low: 2C/36F.

You can get the latest forecast for your area by going to the BBC Weather website.

Alongside today's Spending Review, Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled the government's National Infrastructure Strategy - setting out plans for faster broadband, new roads, cycle lanes, upgraded railways and zero emission buses.

Image source, Getty Images

The chief executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce particularly welcomed plans for faster broadband, saying it could help rural businesses bounce back from the economic downturn.

Richard Sheehan said broadband and better mobile reception would also benefit the extra people working from home.

Shropshire could more than double the amount of woodland it has, Friends of the Earth has said.

It has produced a map of the UK, showing the potential for more trees, and it shows the county currently has 47,000 acres of woodland.

The campaign group said there was enough land to increase that to 115,000 acres and has asked for more funding to be given to councils and farmers, so they can plant trees.