The Met Office has issued a weather warning for the North East with icy weather at risk of causing travel chaos.
The leading meteorologists have warned that snow and hail showers could lead to icy surfaces in the North East with a possibility of travel disruption. Their warnings form part of a 'Yellow Weather Warning' which has been issued for parts of the region with a cold spell following a week of pleasant weather over the past week.
On the whole they have forecast a day of brisk temperatures and wintry showers for the North East. They forecast the following conditions for the region: "Cloudy with a band of rain and hill snow clearing south early this morning. Snow showers following from the north east, settling briefly across inland areas."
Read more: Hour by hour at Met Office predicts 'snow showers' to hit parts of the region
"Sunny spells in the afternoon, but snow showers continuing. Maximum temperature 5 °C."
Over the course of the evening, the Met Office expects the temperature to plummet in the North East. They forecast the following conditions for tonight:
"Snow showers continuing throughout the night with occasional clear spells. Feeling cold with strong winds, particularly near the coasts. Frosty by dawn. Minimum temperature -4 °C."
As a result, the 'Yellow Weather Warning' was issued by the Met Office. They have warned that the wintry showers that have been forecast, alongside the possibility of accumulations of snow may make road surfaces unsafe.
They said: "Further wintry showers overnight Wednesday and early Thursday may lead to fairly widespread icy patches, particularly on untreated surfaces. Some accumulations of snow are also possible, particularly across eastern Scotland and hillier areas of northeast England.
"1-2 cm accumulations are possible mainly above 100 m, with 5 cm over parts of Scotland, Northumberland and the North York Moors above 200-300 m."
Their warning consists of the following points with regards to what to expect:
- Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, leading to an increased chance of accidents or injuries
- Some higher elevation roads may be also affected by snowfall, resulting in longer journey times
