This weekend will see ice and snow hit Cumbria, the Met Office said.
In an updated weather warning, the forecasters say that ice will be a major issue and likely to be a hazard where snow has fallen overnight.
For Saturday, it said that, until 10am: “Whilst falling snow will clear from the south and east of the warning area in the next few hours, lying snow and ice will likely continue to be a hazard through the rest of this morning.
“Icy stretches should become confined to higher ground this afternoon, before temperatures fall below freezing widely this evening. This will lead to untreated surfaces left wet by snow melt becoming icy at all levels, with some disruption to travel likely.”
An updated snow and ice warning has been issued for overnight into Sunday.
It said: “An area of low pressure moving in from the southwest through Saturday night into Sunday will bring a band of precipitation across much of the UK.
“The forward edge of this is expected to fall as a transient band of snow which may bring accumulations over higher ground, before turn increasingly to rain from the south through the night.
“However, for some places in the north of this area, this band may become slow-moving and snow may persist into Sunday morning.
“For much of the area, accumulations likely to be confined to elevations above 200m, with 2-5 cm possible, 5-10cm possible above 400m. These accumulations likely to begin melting with the onset of rain, although, during this transition freezing rain is possible giving icy conditions, mainly over higher ground.
“In the north, where the band of precipitation becomes slow-moving, similar accumulations are expected although this will not melt, with lying snow remaining through Sunday.”
National Highways closed the A66 from Brough to Scotch Corner on Thursday as a safety measure, but reopened it on Friday afternoon. An amber weather warning – meaning there is ‘ an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather’ was in force for some of the north of England, including between Kirkby Stephen to just beyond Barnard Castle until noon on Friday.
This morning, the police said Shap was just about passable due to snow and the A591 between Thirlmere and Grasmere was experiencing heavy traffic due to snow.
Schools, including Kirkby Stephen Grammar School and Kirkoswald School, are also closing today due to the weather.
What to expect
- Possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers
- Possible delays or cancellations to air travel
- Bus and train services may be delayed or cancelled, with some road closures and longer journey times possible
- Untreated pavements and cycle paths might be impassable
- A chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
- There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affecte
