Snow is expected to hit most of the UK on Easter Monday, causing problems on what is expected to be an unusually busy bank holiday on the roads.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow for Bank Holiday Monday across most of England, Wales and southern Scotland.
Rural communities risk becoming cut off and there is a chance power cuts will occur, affecting mobile phone service, the UK’s national weather forecaster said.
Outbreaks of rain and sleet are forecast for Good Friday and Saturday in the Midlands, Wales and southern England, with localised flooding and tricky driving conditions.
There will be some respite from the bad weather on Sunday, which is expected to be mainly dry for the UK.
The AA said because Easter falls early this year it is likely to be one of the busiest bank holiday weekends in recent years.
An AA poll of more than 20,000 people found more than four out of five UK motorists were planning a leisure trip by car over the weekend, which equates to nearly 26 million drivers on the road.
The group believes the longer gap between Easter and summer is encouraging more people to take advantage of the four-day weekend.
A spokesman for the Met Office said: “Obviously things are improving – the worst conditions are out of the way in terms of snow although we’re looking at some chilly nights ahead.
“There will be some widespread frosts and temperatures could get down as low as -8C (17.6F) in northwestern parts of the UK overnight.
“The winds are turning around into a northerly, cutting off that very cold air so things are becoming less cold and less windy.
“In the next couple of days most places are going to be quieter and it could become fairly mild by Wednesday.”
Highways England is removing 300 miles of roadworks from motorways and major A-roads to help those travelling by road.
However, more than 400 projects will be carried out on the country’s railways as part of a £118m investment by Network Rail.
Rail replacement buses will feature heavily across the country so passengers are advised to check online before they travel to stations.
Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said the rain on Sunday will move north through the night and into Monday, and, as it hits, the cold air over the UK it is likely to turn to snow.
She added: “At the moment the exact locations and amounts of snow expected are still uncertain, but areas most at risk are Wales, most of England and southern Scotland, where the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow.
“Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic and northern England will enjoy drier and brighter conditions through Good Friday and Saturday, although some showers are likely, especially to the northeast where they may be wintry over the high ground.
“The snow could potentially cause some travel disruption as some people return home from their Easter break.
“Some may be fed up with the wintry weather returning again, especially as snow is something most of us would expect to see in winter rather than spring.
“But we are actually more likely to experience snow in the UK at this time of the year.
“Statistics from the Met Office show on average snow or sleet falls for 3.9 days in December, but 4.2 days in March.”
From – SkyNews
