New amber weather warning issued with up to 15cm of snow forecast

Thanks for reading our blog today.

We’re now ending our live blog, but Metro will have all the latest weather updates tomorrow.

The Met Office says: ‘Further snow will affect the hillier areas of northern England during Sunday night, easing later.

‘Snow will be persistent and heavy at times, and will drift in the strong north-easterly winds.

‘An additional 5-10cm of snow is possible on ground above 200metres and as much as 15cm above 300metres.

‘Travel will likely be difficult, with power line icing an additional impact.’

Two out of three lanes are closed on the M60 anticlockwise this evening due to flooding.

The lane closure is located between junction 25 for Bredbury and 24 for Denton.

National Highways staff are en route to try and clear the flood water, and they say there currently aren’t any significant delays on the approach.

1. Yellow snow and ice warning covering northern and western Scotland: in place from midday Sunday to 11am Monday
2. Yellow snow and ice warning covering eastern Scotland: in place from 9am Sunday until 12pm Monday
3. Yellow snow warning covering southern Scotland: in place from midnight Sunday until 12pm Monday
4. Yellow snow and ice warning covering northern and central England and north Wales: in place from midnight to midday on Monday
5. Yellow ice warning covering most of Northern Ireland: in place from midnight to 11am on Monday
6. Yellow rain warning covering most of Wales and parts of central England: in place from 6am Sunday until 6am Monday
7. Yellow rain warning covering south west and south east of England: in place from 8pm Sunday until 9am Monday

The A66 will remain closed in both directions into Monday morning amid heavy snow in the region.

The road is closed in both directions between the A1M Scotch Corner and the M6 at Penrith.

National Highways are advising drivers who had been planning to use the A66 to cross the Pennines to use alternative routes or delay their journey altogether.

There’s been flooding in the Mill Hill and Elstree areas, which is forcing trains to run at reduced speed between London St Pancras International and St Albans.

It’s impacting the following Thameslink services:

• Between Brighton and Bedford
• Between Horsham / Three Bridges and Bedford
• Between Sutton and Luton

Services are facing delays and the disruption is expected to last until about 6pm.

Leeds Bradford Airport has finally reopened its runway, after keeping it closed all morning due to heavy snowfall.

The airport confirmed shortly after 2.15pm that operations were resuming.

However, disruption is expected further into the day due to the backlog of flights that were delayed.

Lancashire and Warwickshire are among the areas at risk from ‘significant river flooding’ due to a combination of melting snow and rain today and tomorrow, an Environment Agency official has said.

Minor flooding from rivers and surface water may also be on the way widely across other parts of England.

Sarah Cook, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: ‘Environment Agency teams continue to be out on the ground, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and support those communities affected.

‘We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.’

Liverpool and Man United fans have been told to take extra care on the roads after today’s match got the go-ahead.

The clash between the two teams will take place at Anfield this afternoon after the wintry forecast cast doubt on it.

But Merseyside Police urged attendees to ‘drive to the conditions’.

Leeds Bradford Airport says its runway remains closed due to ‘ongoing heavy snowfall’.

An updated statement on its website says: ‘Our teams are working hard to reopen it as soon as it is safe to do so.

‘Customers are advised to contact their airline for the most up-to-date information regarding their flight before travelling to the airport.

‘Due to the high volume of customers in the departure lounge, we may need to temporarily restrict access through security, this will be managed in flight priority order.

‘Our operations team will be on hand to assist, please listen out for announcements within the terminal.’

It said an update will be issued at 2pm today.

Snowy weather can be fun for dogs and it’s generally safe, but there are a few potential risks that pet owners should bear in mind.

To make sure your four-legged friend is safe and happy in the chilly weather we spoke to the experts to find out what precautions to take and when it’s just too cold to take them outside.

Yes Heathrow Airport is open, but there have been several cancellations and delays this morning.

According to flight tracking website, Flight Aware, 11 flights have been cancelled and 153 delayed so far today.

It’s not clear whether these disruptions are due to the snow however.

The airport has not issued any warnings to passengers on its website or social media.

Here’s some drone footage showing a snowy northern England from the sky.

The Premiership match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield will go ahead today as planned, it’s been announced.

There were fears the snowy weather would postpone the game.

‘Two safety meetings were held earlier to assess the weather and travel conditions,’ Liverpool said in a statement.

‘We thank everyone involved in helping us to get this game on today. If you’re travelling to Anfield then please take extra care. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Environment Agency has issued nine flood warnings, mostly for southern England, where flooding is expected.

The warnings cover several rivers in Devon, including River Taw and River Avon, and other counties such as Somerset and Sussex.

Meanwhile, 110 flood alerts have also been issued, where flooding is possible.

You can see the full list of warnings and alerts here.

As earlier reported, the Met Office issued a yellow rain warning today for southern England, set to run until 9am tomorrow.

While snow in the UK does cause its fair share of chaos – for many it’s a chance to have some good old winter fun.

Here we share of a few of our favourite photos from this morning.

Several motorists were left stranded due to the heavy snow overnight.

Cumbria Police said emergency services rescued drivers from six vehicles on Wrynose Pass, in the Lake District.

They were safely escorted down the single track mountain road.

Several roads in the area were closed due to icy conditions including Hardknott Pass, Cold Fell and Birker Fell, according to Cumberland Council.

Snow closed the A628 Woodhead Pass (which connects Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire through the Peak District) overnight in both directions between the A616 at Flouch and the A57 at Hollingworth.

The A66 in County Durham and Cumbria was closed between the M6 and A1M because of the conditions, while two of four lanes on the M1 northbound between J30 Worksop and J31 Sheffield in South Yorkshire were shut after a collision involving a HGV.

One lane of the northbound A3 in Hampshire was closed this morning due to flooding following overnight snow, National Highways said.

National Highways has a severe weather alert in place for snow for England until midnight tonight.

The runways at Manchester and Liverpool John Lennon airports have reopened.

They were closed this morning due to heavy snow fall.

Manchester Airport said there would still be some delays as staff work to de-ice aircraft and clear walkways.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport also said passengers should expect some delays.

Runways at Leeds Bradford Airport remain closed.