Key events
What is freezing rain?
Today, the UK is braced for freezing rain – but what is that?
The Met Office describes it as “a rare type of liquid precipitation that strikes a cold surface, and freezes almost instantly”.
It adds:
The conditions needed for freezing rain are quite specific and we don’t see this phenomenon very often in the UK. It can produce striking effects, as the rain drop spreads out momentarily across the surface before it freezes, encasing the surface in a layer of clear ice.
However, it is not just these eye-catching scenes which the freezing rain can bring; the weight of the ice can sometimes be heavy enough to bring down trees and power lines, and the glaze of ice on the ground effectively turns roads and pathways into an ice rink. The freezing rain can also prove extremely hazardous for aircraft.
Freezing rain is more common in other parts of the world, for example in the USA, where weather systems produce a lot of freezing rain. These are called ice storms, and if enough glaze collects on trees or power lines, the weight of the ice can cause them to break and can result in disruption on a large scale.
Some football games have been called off, including Cheltenham’s clash with League Two leaders Walsall, which was due to take place on Saturday.
Halifax’s National League home game against Fylde, which was also set for Saturday, has been called off.
Friday night’s Scottish Championship game between Airdrie and leaders Falkirk did not take place.
Meanwhile, Saturday’s race meeting at Newcastle has been abandoned because the course is frozen.
For those needing to drive today, the Press Association has this advice on how to stay safe:
Don’t drive if you feel unsafe
Of course, if you really need to be somewhere then this isn’t an option, but if you’re unsure of your abilities or feel stressed by the prospect of driving in snowy weather then it’s always better to hang up the keys and stay put.
Don’t be tempted to drive with a half-cleared windscreen
This is extremely dangerous – you should wait for your windscreen to defrost entirely before you set off. Make sure that your side windows, rear screen and wing mirrors are all cleared before you leave, too. Plus, if you don’t clear your windscreen properly you could be fined for dangerous driving – risking a penalty of up to £2,500 in the most severe instances.
Don’t leave snow on the roof of your car when driving
If the area you live in has experienced a big delivery of snow, then it’s likely that a lot of it will have collected on the roof of your car too. While you might think that this would just breeze off in a flurry as you drive away, sub-zero temperatures can often see snow compact and freeze solid on a car’s roof, creating a potential hazard. A big slab of frozen snow could easily crack the windscreen of a car travelling behind you.
Don’t try to use your wipers to de-frost your car’s windscreen
When you get into your car on a frosty morning it might seem like a good idea to activate its windscreen wipers as a way to clear away the ice. However, during sub-zero temperatures, the wipers can quickly freeze solid, so switching them on will simply burn out the motors and could cause some expensive damage.
Instead, gently lift the wiper arms away from the screen to free them from the ice, or spray a small amount of de-icer onto them as a way of making sure they’re frost-free.
Avoid using boiling water to de-ice your screen
Pouring boiling water from the kettle onto your car’s frosty windscreen might seem like a good idea. The reality is quite the opposite, however, as doing so could cause your screen to crack as it changes from one extreme temperature to another. If your windscreen has any stone chips, then doing this could make them worse, too.
Here is the Met Office’s forecast for Saturday morning:
A chilly start on Saturday with freezing fog and icy stretches in parts of the north ⚠️
The best of the sunshine in the northeast, with scattered showers for a few in the northwest 🌦️
Drier but cloudier further south with rain and snow later arriving in the far southwest ☔ pic.twitter.com/CYFRKG1KJR
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 3, 2025
Here are a few pictures from around the UK on Friday:
Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said some “significant accumulations” of snow are possible in parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England, and the additional factor of strengthening winds could lead to drifting of lying snow.
He added:
There is a risk of freezing rain across parts of the Midlands and northern England, but especially Wales, adding to the risk of ice and leading to some treacherous conditions in places.
As the super-cooled rain droplets hit the surface they instantly freeze, covering everything in a layer of ice, making it extremely dangerous.
Opening summary
Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the UK’s freezing weather.
A cold weather health alert has been issued for all regions in England with large parts of the UK set to be hit by snow and freezing rain, after temperatures across the UK plunged as low as -8C (17.6F) on Friday.
The Met Office has warned that the freezing weather could cause delays to rail and air travel, power cuts and the cutting off of rural communities, with up to 30cm of snow forecast in some areas.
Temperatures of minus 10C were forecast in parts of rural Scotland on Friday night, according to the Met Office.
An amber warning for snow and rare freezing rain covering most of Wales and central England, including the Midlands and the north-west cities of Liverpool and Manchester, is in place from 6pm on Saturday to midday on Sunday, the Met Office said.
The second warning for snow, covering most of northern England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District, has been issued from 9pm on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.
Three separate yellow weather warnings for snow and ice will be in force for most areas of the UK, covering different periods of time until Monday afternoon.
Here’s what else you need to know:
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The cold weather health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), lasts until midday on Wednesday. It means it is expected temperatures inside places such as hospitals, care homes and clinics could drop below the recommended levels.
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A baby boy was killed in a crash on Thursday night when a car hit a tree on the A1 near Grantham in Lincolnshire, and police are investigating whether the incident was linked to icy conditions on the carriageway. The baby, who was seven months old, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead just after 5am, Lincolnshire police said.
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The UK’s lowest temperature of the cold snap so far was recorded in Benson in Oxfordshire, where it was -8.1C on Friday morning, while temperatures dropped to -7.5C in Shap, Cumbria, and -6.7C at Bournemouth airport. In Scotland, the lowest recorded temperature was -6.4C in Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway.
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Some football games have already been called off this weekend. They include Cheltenham’s clash with League Two leaders Walsall which was due to take place on Saturday, Halifax’s National League home game against Fylde which was also scheduled for Saturday, and Friday night’s Scottish Championship game between Airdrie and leaders Falkirk.
