Cold weather alert

The Met Office has issued a severe cold weather warning between 12pm on Saturday and 12pm on Monday in parts of England. This weather could increase the health risks to vulnerable people and disrupt the delivery of services.

Overview

A cold northerly flow is expected to develop during Saturday, allowing overnight temperatures to fall below freezing across northern and central parts during Saturday night and much of England during Sunday night. However, this cold spell will be short-lived with mild conditions returning during Monday across all of England.

Forecast by region:

North East England

• A cold front will clear during Saturday morning, bringing a mostly dry but cold weekend.
• Overnight temperatures are expected to fall below freezing on both Saturday and Sunday night.
• Milder conditions arriving during Monday, meaning only a brief cold spell is expected.

North West England

• As North East England, although there is a risk of showers, wintry at times, especially through the Cheshire gap during Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
• This could bring the risk of icy patches developing.

Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands, and East of England

• As North East England, although it is less likely that temperatures will fall below the threshold of 2 degrees Celsius for 48 hours.

West Midlands

• As North West England, although it is less likely that temperatures will fall below the threshold of 2 degrees Celsius for 48 hours.

Southeast England, Southwest England, and London

• These regions are unlikely to experience severe cold weather during this period.

What does this mean?

There are three different thresholds for the cold weather health watch. Only 1 of the 3 thresholds needs to be breached for a warning to be issued.

The thresholds are:

• Mean temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius for 48 hours or longer
• Heavy snow
• Widespread ice

What should I do?

Prolonged periods of cold weather can be dangerous, especially for the very young, very old or those with chronic diseases.

You can help keep warm by heating all the rooms that you use in your home, ensuring that your bedroom temperature is above 18°C overnight.

Dress warmly, ensuring you wear plenty of thin layers, rather than one thick one.

If there is anyone you know who might be at special risk, make sure they know what to do.

Download our Winter wrapped up guide for more help and advice (PDF 1MB)

 Find out more from the Met Office website