The Met Office has revealed the exact moment heavy snow is set to hit Nottinghamshire after an amber cold health alert was issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). According to the forecaster, snow could start falling at 6pm on Saturday, January 4, and potentially continue until 3am the next day.
Chances of snow currently stand at 50 per cent between 6pm and 9pm on Saturday, 90 per cent between 9pm and 3am on Sunday, January 5. The snow will be followed by heavy rain, with chances of precipitation of up to 95 per cent. Temperatures will reach as low as 0C, with a real feel of as low as -4C.
The rain will continue throughout Sunday and until Monday morning (January 6). This comes as a yellow weather warning for snow has been issued by the Met Office valid between Saturday at noon and 9am on Monday.
The warning covers the majority of England, with the exception of the very south west and parts of the eastern coast. The Met Office said “significant accumulations of snow are possible”.
A spokesperson said: “Currently, parts of the Midlands, Wales and northern England are most at risk of disruption, where 5cm or more could accumulate fairly widely, with perhaps as much as 20-30 cm over high ground of Wales and/or the Pennines. This, accompanied by strengthening winds, may lead to drifting of lying snow.”
An amber cold health alert has also been issued by the UKHSA, warning of “significant impact” with an increase in deaths and demand for the health services.
The UKHSA said: “Forecast weather is likely to cause significant impacts across health and social care services, including a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions.
“We may also see impacts on younger age groups, a likely increase in demand for health services, temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks, challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C leading to more risk to vulnerable people, staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays) and other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy).”
The amber cold health alert came into force earlier today (Thursday, January 2) at noon and is set to remain in place until January 8 at noon. Similar alerts are in place for the entire country.