Overview
- An active Met Office yellow warning covers parts of Scotland from 6am Jan 1 to 11:59pm Jan 2, with frequent heavy snow showers, icy conditions and the risk of travel disruption.
- The Met Office says 10–20cm of snow is possible in places, up to 30cm on higher ground, with gale‑force winds likely to cause significant drifting and poor visibility.
- The UKHSA has amber cold-health alerts in the North East and North West of England until midday Jan 5 and yellow alerts elsewhere, warning of increased pressure on health services and heightened risks for older and vulnerable people.
- The medium‑range outlook for Jan 2–11 points to dominant cold northerly winds bringing wintry showers to exposed coasts, with bands of rain, sleet and snow pushing south while many inland central and southern areas stay mostly dry but cold.
- Media reports citing WXCharts, ECMWF and GFS model runs show the possibility of widespread heavy snow across the UK in early January with local totals up to around 50cm, though these scenarios remain model‑based and are not confirmed by official forecasts.