UK weather: Weekend set to bring snow for most of UK

Air passengers travelling to and from Scotland are facing disruption with dozens of flights cancelled, delayed or diverted due to the wintry weather.

An amber weather alert has been in force across central Scotland, with the Met Office warning on Friday that 5-10cm (2-4in) of snow could accumulate in some places in two to three hours, impacting travel – plus the threat of power cuts.

It comes as another blanket of snow is headed for the UK this weekend, with up to 15cm (6in) in some parts.

Forecasters say most of the country will be affected, but it will be followed by a band of rain and milder air, bringing an end to the cold snap.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice covering the majority of Scotland, Wales, the north of England and the Midlands from 3am to 9pm on Sunday.

Another warning for snow and ice will also cover most of the south of England from 3am until 2pm on Sunday.

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Flights to Glasgow Airport have been cancelled or diverted after the runway was shut on Friday because of “snow and freezing rain”, while Dundee Airport closed on Friday morning due to the weather.

A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: “The airfield was subject to sustained and heavy snow for more than three hours and this was cleared, however, ongoing ground temperatures of between -6C and -10C coupled with intermittent rainfall resulted in flash freezing across areas of the runway, taxiways and pathways.

“Our people are working extremely hard in these difficult conditions to resume operations, but only when it is safe to do so.”

Both airports urged passengers to check with their airlines for the status of their flights.

Severe weather has caused major disruption across the UK in the past few days.

Engineers have warned some people on Shetland could be without power until the weekend as they work to reconnect thousands who have endured their fourth day without power after significant snowfall.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said there had been “significant progress” after 1,700 homes were without power on Thursday night. The company has warned that some homes will not be reconnected until next week – seven days after they lost power.

Met Office meteorologist Ellie Wilson said: “A band of rain and snow is going to be moving northeastwards across the country through Sunday.

“It’s bringing milder air behind it, but that milder air bumps into the cold air that’s where we’re seeing where the snow is likely to fall.”

Ms Wilson said there could be up to 8cm (3in) over Wales and 15cm in the north of Scotland.

She added: “Because of the current cold conditions that we’ve seen, any of that snowfall will be falling onto cold frozen surfaces so there is a risk of ice here through the morning.

Ms Wilson said temperatures on Sunday afternoon onwards will be “on the rise” and will likely hit 9 -10C in the west and have risen to 11-13C across the UK on Monday.