The latest weather map issued by the Met Office shows exactly when snow will hit the North East this weekend.
The UK’s national weather service has released a ‘precipitation’ map, which shows the snow, rainfall and hail that is set to hit our region. A weather warning for snow and ice has come into force today and will remain in place until midnight on Sunday, January 5, covering the majority of the region with the exception of the coast, as well as affecting most of England and Wales.
While this 36-hour warning is in effect, there is a risk of travel disruption on the roads as well as delays or cancellations to rail and air travel. According to the Met Office precipitation map, the North East may see the first smatterings of snow in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The map shows that County Durham is likely to be hit with the first signs of light snowfall at around 12.30am on Sunday. By around 1am, heavier snowfall is expected in the area, with snow and rain hitting the Sunderland and Newcastle outskirts by around 2am.
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By around 3am, much of the North East is set to experience some form of snow or rain, with hail in small parts of County Durham. It appears from the map that more coastal areas of the region may see heavier rain.
By around 4am, the snow is expected covering swathes of the North East – with Newcastle potentially seeing more rain than anything else. The snow in Northumberland and the Sunderland area is still expected to be light. However, areas such as Bishop Auckland and Consett could see heavy snow at around 4.30am.
But by around 6am on Sunday, the majority of Northumberland and County Durham will have heavy snowfall – with Sunderland and the outskirts of Newcastle experiencing heavy rain or sleet. By 8am, it should be a wet morning in Newcastle with heavy snow remaining in parts of Hexham and County Durham.
As the morning progresses into midday, heavy rainfall is expected across much of the North East. By early Sunday afternoon, light hail could hit parts of Newcastle before enveloping parts of Northumberland, Sunderland and County Durham. By Sunday evening, sleet and light hail are expected.
The amber alert has been issued for likely disruption due to snow across northern England from 9pm on Saturday, January 4, and lasting all day on Sunday, January 5, before being lifted at midnight.