Met Office issues ice weather warning for Preston with caution urged

Icy Avenham Park this week. Pic: Blog Preston

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ice in Preston towards the end of a weekend that saw significant snowfall to the north and east.

The warning states that icy patches are likely to develop in the evening and overnight and this could lead to challenging travel conditions.

The Met Office has put the warning in place for Preston from 5pm tonight (December 3) until midday tomorrow (December 4). People are warned to take extra time for their journeys, avoiding the need to rush and therefore reducing the risk of accidents.

The ice warning, which covers a much broader area of the North West than Preston, is in place despite temperatures being forecast to be slightly warmer this evening than most of this week. The Met Office has attributed this to thaw of any recent snowfall and forecast rain this evening leading to a high risk of tricky surfaces.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “Modest thaw of recent snowfall will lead to wet roads and pavements. With temperatures falling this evening refreezing of thawed snow will lead to some icy patches on untreated surfaces.

“As well as this, later in the night rain will push north across much of the the area, initially falling on to frozen surfaces. Some snow is also likely, mainly across the hills and mountains of north Wales and The Peak District. Snow may fall to lower levels for a time tomorrow morning, especially across parts of Wales adding to the risk of ice.

“Keep yourself and your family safe when it is icy. Plan to leave the house at least five minutes earlier than normal. Not needing to rush, reduces your risk of accidents, slips, and falls. If you need to make a journey on foot or by bike, try to use pavements along main roads which are likely to be less slippery.

“Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.”

Preston avoided a snow warning over the weekend but anyone who travelled to Kendal and Ambleside in the Lake District was met with significant disruption and a ‘major incident’ due to a high volume of snowfall in a short space of time on Saturday.

There were reports of people abandoning their journeys to the Lake District before setting off once they had seen the weather. There were also reports of people already in the area having to abandon their vehicles for the evening, with community centres open to support those stranded.

Subscribe: You can now opt-in to receive Blog Preston news updates through Whatsapp via this link.