The UK is bracing for a cold and wintry week as Storm Pedro brings rain, ice, and snow across the country.
A yellow ice weather warning covering much of Wales is in force on Thursday morning, and will be lifted at 10am. A rain warning is issued until 8am for southern parts of England, as wet weather is forecast to batter coastal areas.
Met Office experts have warned spells of heavy rain and a period of snow could lead to some flooding and disruption to travel.
Some 10-20mm of rain is expected to fall widely, though areas near the south coast could see up to 30mm of rain, while Dartmoor, Devon, could be battered with as much as 50mm.
Forecasters said there is “potential” for an area of rain and snow to affect parts of Wales, central England and into the southern Pennines which will continue through to Thursday morning.
Most of the snow is expected to accumulate on hills, with 2-5 cm anticipated “widely “above 150-200 metres. The Met Office said as much as 10-15 cm is possible above 250-300 metres in mid and southeast Wales, as well as Herefordshire, Shropshire and the southern Pennines.
It added lower elevations may see some small accumulations of snow of less than 2 cm into the early hours of Thursday morning.
There are 74 flood warnings in place for England, where flooding is expected, and 212 flood alerts, where it is possible.
Icy weather could also cause disruption in parts of Wales and south west England, with forecasters warning of slips and falls on untreated surfaces.
Numerous places across Britain have been hit by flooding this year thanks to repeated heavy downpours.
Last month, Storm Chandra forced schools to close and disrupted everyday life.
Further cold weather warnings have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency across parts of England from 6pm on Tuesday evening until 6pm on Friday.
The agency said the weather was likely to lead to higher demand on healthcare services by vulnerable people, as well as a greater risk to life of vulnerable people.
Strong winds will accompany the wet weather, which could exacerbate the effects in places, the Met Office said.
Deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates said: “Initially, we may see some snow over the highest parts of southern England, such as Dartmoor, but the main chance of snow will be across higher parts of the Midlands and mid- and southeast Wales.”
The UK Health Security Agency yellow cold health alert, issued for the East Midlands, West Midlands, North East, North West, South West, east of England and Yorkshire and the Humber, is place from 6pm on Tuesday until 6pm on Friday.
Senior Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: “By the time we get into the late part of the day on Thursday, by that stage, the winds should be clearing away and Thursday will just be a slow improvement day.
“It’s all change after that, by the weekend it will be feeling much, much milder with temperatures reaching the low-to-mid teens, if we see some sunshine.
“There will be further spells of wind and rain but most of us will certainly see an uplift of temperatures as we go into the weekend.”
