UK weather: Disruption warning as snow hits parts of the UK

Forecasters have warned of the potential for disruption as snow falls across parts of the UK.

An amber weather warning of heavy snow is in place across eastern England, with people told to expect power cuts and travel delays.

There are also warnings that rural communities could be "cut off", with up to 8cm (3in) of snow forecast.

Most of the rest of England and Scotland has a yellow snow alert in place until Saturday evening.

On Saturday, people in East Anglia woke up to a thick layer of snow that had settled overnight, with more snow expected to fall until the afternoon.

Between 4-8cm of snow could fall in the worst-affected regions, the Met Office said.

It warned drivers to accelerate their cars "gently" and to leave a large gap between surrounding vehicles.

Parts of Wales and Northern Ireland will be mostly cloudy, with some bands of rain in the northern regions.

Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office forecaster, said: "Areas in eastern England and around the M25 could see up to 8cm of snow, especially as Saturday progresses.

"Other areas in England and Scotland will see some snowfall here and there, with Saturday being the colder of the two days over the weekend.

"Temperatures are unlikely to rise above 10C, with a lot of areas closer to freezing."

Luke Miall, meteorologist at the Met Office, said patches of snow could reach parts of Greater London.

He said the snow had the potential to cause some "fairly significant disruption."

There were also 25 flood warnings across England on Saturday, stretching from the South East to the North East, meaning "immediate action is required", according to the Environment Agency.

This is expected to clear up in the evening, going into Sunday, when southern and eastern parts of the UK will see dry, sunny spells.

North-western regions are expected to see showers, with a "spell of more persistent rain" later on in the day.

The coronavirus vaccine rollout has been affected by the weather.

On Friday, over-80s who were due to receive their jab at Newcastle's Centre for Life were told they could rebook rather than risk making a trip in the icy conditions.

And Leeds University has delayed the opening of its asymptomatic Covid-19 test centre.