A weather warning has been issued for parts of Scotland and northern England amid snowfalls and plummeting temperatures.
Wintry weather has replaced the glorious sunshine experienced by much of the UK last week and now the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for ice for an area covering a large swathe of eastern Scotland, north-east England and Yorkshire.
The Met Office warning says: “Snow and hail showers could lead to icy surfaces, with possible travel disruption.”
Snow covers the ground at Killhope Slate Mine in County Durham (Owen Humphreys/PA)
(PA Wire)
And it says that, in affected areas, there will be “probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, leading to an increased chance of accidents or injuries”.
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The warning, which runs from 8pm on Wednesday to 10am on Thursday, says that some high-level routes may also be hit by snow.
The Met Office forecast says rain and hill snow will move south across England and Wales during Wednesday with heavy sleet, hail and snow showers in the North.
Wednesday night will bring clear spells in the North with wintry showers and a widespread frost.
Southern England will see rain and sleet, with some hill snow continuing south-eastwards, clearing into Thursday.
The forecast says the cold weather will start to ease on Sunday.
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Temperatures are expected to be half those reached last week, when many areas basked in glorious sunshine and highs of 20C (68F).
And thermometers will fall below freezing overnight as the cold front pushes down from the North.