Met Office weather warnings issued for tonight as snow blast hits UK: live

An NHS board has warned people to avoid going outside in the early morning and late at night when conditions are more hazardous.

Warning of the potential for slips and falls, the NHS Black Country integrated care board said: “Avoid going out early when the frost is thick or late at night when it’s dark.”

The body previously issued the same warning during freezing weather in November.

Temperatures could fall as low as minus 8C on Thursday night in rural southern Scotland and northern England, the Met Office said.

It will also be cold in rural Wales and the south west of England with minus 6C expected.

There are two yellow weather warnings in place across Scotland tonight, with more to come into place across the country on Saturday.

An imminent cold snap could put the elderly at risk of death, the UK Health Security Agency has warned, as a charity criticised the Government’s decision to limit winter fuel payments.

The UKHSA has issued cold weather health amber alerts from 12pm on Thursday until January 8 meaning a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, is likely.

Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said the Government’s decision to limit the winter fuel allowance to only the poorest pensioners will be put “into sharp relief” by the cold snap.

Ms Abrahams said the charity had already been contacted by older people “worrying about what to do when this moment arrived”.

From this winter, only people on pension credit or certain other benefits will receive the winter fuel payments while more than nine million others are set to be stripped of the allowance.

“We urge older people to do everything they can to stay warm, even if that means risking spending more on their heating than they feel they can afford,” the charity director said. “The energy companies are under an obligation to help if you are struggling and there may be support available from your local council too.”

A major incident has been stood down after flooding which saw almost 1,000 people evacuated.

Fire crews in Greater Manchester attended more than 100 incidents as a result of the flooding, caused by heavy rain through New Year’s Eve and into New Year’s Day.

In neighbouring Cheshire, the Bridgewater Canal breached its banks when an aqueduct was damaged during the rainfall.

In a joint update on Thursday, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) said there had been no reports of injuries and they were now focussing on recovery efforts.

The major incident was declared at 4am on New Year’s Day and mountain rescue teams were deployed to help.

Chief Fire Officer Dave Russel said: “The flooding on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day caused considerable damage and disruption across Greater Manchester. We have evacuated nearly 1,000 people, half of them on boats, and many from flooded homes.

“Over the past 36 hours, fire crews have worked tirelessly to keep people safe alongside Greater Manchester Police, North West Ambulance Service, Mountain Rescue, local councils and a range of partners. I’d like to thank everyone involved in the response for their hard work and dedication.”

2024 was provisionally the fourth warmest year on record for the UK, according to the Met Office.

With a mean temperature of 9.78C it follows 2022, 2023 and 2014 as provisionally the fourth warmest year for the UK according to mean temperature in a series from 1884.

All top 10 warmest years according to mean temperature have been since the year 2000, with five in the most recent decade 2015-2024.

Every year of the most recent decade has been warmer than the 1991-2020 long-term average.

Met Office Senior Scientist Mike Kendon said: “2024 has been another year with minimum temperatures well above average. We have experienced some particularly mild nights and far fewer frosts than normal, particularly in February and December.”

About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, the Met Office has said.

As much as 20-30cm could be seen over high ground in Wales and/or the Pennines, the forecaster added.