Snow, ice and colder weather to bring in the new year with warnings issued

Snow and ice warnings have been issued by the Met Office for New Year's Day as colder Arctic air is set to grip the United Kingdom.

The cold spell is likely to last over a week with amber and yellow alerts issued by the UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) as temperatures drop.

While snow initially may be limited to northern Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland, England and Wales could see some snow by the end of the week.

It is then possible more widespread snow could move in across the UK next week.

Amber cold health alerts for North-West and North-East England are currently in force from the UKHSA, with yellow alerts elsewhere across England until 12:00 on 5 January.

The alerts warn of a rise in deaths particularly among elderly and vulnerable people.

Other consequences of cold weather include temperatures inside hospitals and care homes dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks, and challenges for people keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18C, according to the UKHSA.

Maximum temperatures by day will be around 0 to 7C over the next few days before dropping further.

The colder Arctic air will spread across the UK from New Year's Day - Thursday - with significant snowfall expected in Northern Scotland.

A Met Office yellow warning is in place here from 06:00 GMT Thursday until 23:59 Friday.

Snow accumulations could be around 2-10cm at low levels but up to 20-30cm over higher ground with some drifting and blizzards.

Delays on the roads with risk of vehicles being stranded are possible.

Some rural communities could also be cut off according to the Met Office.

By the end of this week temperatures will be up to 3-5C at best with some parts of Scotland and northern England experiencing 'ice-days' where temperatures don't rise above freezing.

Elsewhere across the UK there will be widespread overnight frosts and an increasing risk of snow showers affecting parts of Northern Ireland, northern England and North Wales by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, the snow showers across Northern Scotland will continue into the weekend.

Further snow and ice warnings are likely to be issued by the Met Office in the coming days, which you can keep up to date with here.

Away from the snow showers there will be lots of crisp winter sunshine.

With the colder weather expected to last into next week, forecasters are keeping an eye on a weather system that could bring more widespread snow even across England and Wales on Tuesday.

As this is still a long way off in weather forecasting, stay up to date with the latest forecast on the BBC Weather website or app as details are likely to change.