Preston is seeing icy downpours as temperatures drop dramatically.

The city was battered with a deluge of sleet and bursts of hail during the Wednesday afternoon and evening rush hour.

Wintry showers caused difficult driving conditions and standing water in some areas.

The Met Office has issued an ice warning for the city and surrounding area.

Temperatures will drop to -1 overnight and Thursday (17 January) is expected to dawn cold and crisp, and you might need your deicer.

The warning for ice is in force from 10pm on Wednesday until 11am on Thursday.

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Here’s an hour-by-hour breakdown of the weather for Wednesday evening and Thursday morning:

Wednesday

10pm – Four degrees, light cloud
11pm – Four degrees and a 21 per cent chance of rain

Thursday

Midnight – Still four degrees
1am – Some cloud clover
2am – Still a bit of a breeze and four degrees
3am – Three degrees
4am – Three degrees
5am – Dropping to one degrees
6am – Freezing, some cloud cover
7am – Freezing, some cloud cover
8am – Still zero degrees
9am – Some sun, but it warms up to one degrees!
10am – The slightest chance of a shower
11am – Three degrees, sun
12noon – Four degrees, and some sunshine for what is a cold but pleasant afternoon