A snowy blast could see power cuts, travel disruption and rural communities on Teesside cut off this weekend, the Met Office has warned.
The national weather and climate service has issued an Amber warning for snow in the North-east of England covering part of Teesside. The warning is in place from between 9pm on Saturday, January 4 and 11.59pm on Sunday, January 5.
Forecasters say snow is expected to lead to disruption across northern England. The warning reads: “Snow will reach the south of the warning area later Saturday, then spread north across the rest of the area through Sunday morning. Snow will be persistent and heavy at times, and will likely drift in brisk easterly winds, especially over higher ground.
“Much of the warning area can expect 3-7 cm of snow. Areas above about 150 m will likely see 15-30 cm, with 40 cm for ground above 300 m, before snow begins to ease and clear by the end of Sunday. For some lower-lying areas, such as the Vale of York, snow may mix with rain at times making estimations of snow depths here more difficult. Regardless, travel will likely be difficult, with power line icing an additional impact.”
The amber weather warning is in place for much of our region including Stockton, Darlington, North Yorkshire and Durham. Here’s what to expect:
- Some rural communities cut off
- Power cuts and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, affected
- Delays and cancellations to rail and air travel is expected
- Travel delays on roads, stranding some vehicles and passengers
It comes after a separate yellow weather warning was issued for snow and ice. The warning is in place between 12pm on Saturday until the end of Sunday. Heavy snow and some freezing rain is likely to cause some disruption over throughout the weekend. Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton are all included in the warning, along with most of the region.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “Outbreaks of rain spreading progressively north-eastwards later on Saturday and overnight into Sunday will likely be preceded by a spell of snow on its northern flank.”
The Met office has issued safety advice and urged motorists not to drive, a spokesperson said: “It is safer not to drive in these conditions, but if you need to make an essential journey, consider alternative forms of transport, to keep you and others safe. If you must drive, do this more safely by: using dipped headlights; accelerating gently, using low revs and changing to higher gears as quickly as possible; starting in second gear to help with wheel slip; maintaining a safe and steady speed, keeping distance from other vehicles; using a low gear to go downhill, avoiding braking unless necessary; steering into skids, not taking your hands of the wheel, and avoiding slamming on brakes.”
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