Much of Britain is enjoying a short
but sweet taste of spring today before widespread snow strikes on the
last day of winter tomorrow.
Up
to eight inches of snow is expected to fall in flurries that could
stretch across large parts of England and Wales. The Met Office has
warned snowfall starting tonight could cause severe disruption on the
roads and railways.
They have issued a yellow warning which means that 'severe weather is possible over the next few days' and there is a 'strong possibility' of snow.
It is yet another extreme twist in the
weather after several days of warm spring sunshine, and came as experts
revealed the past winter has been the wettest for 250 years.
Tomorrow - February 28 - officially
marks the final day of the winter season for Met Office records. Yet it
could be the day when many parts of the country see their first snow of
winter.
The Met Office
website states: 'A yellow warning means that there is a strong
possibility of snow and that people need to be aware of potentially
dangerous conditions.
'You should plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays or the disruption of your day to day activities.
'Yellow
means keep an eye on the latest forecast and be aware that the weather
may change or worsen, leading to disruption of your plans in the next
few days.'
Although parts of
England look set to be hit by snow - Scotland will escape the bleak
wintry weather. Parts of the country that are at risk of snowfall
include the Midlands, the South East, the South West and Wales.
Dan
Williams, of the Met Office, said: 'Areas in the South East and West as
well as the south west Midlands may see some slushy snow. Towards Bristol and Wales is also similar.
'We were expecting more but we've revised our predictions. The yellow warning is in place from 2am till 3pm on Friday.
'It's
likely to be slushy snow, we doubt it'll settle. We're not expecting it
to be too widespread but people should look at the warning on our
website.
'We might also
see some slushy showers but I have to say it isn't unusual for this time
of year. Temperatures are cooler than they have been earlier this month
but this isn't out of the ordinary.'
'We're looking at average daytime temperatures.'
The
Met Office also forecast heavy rain as well as slushy snow on Friday,
cloudy conditions on Saturday and sunny intervals on Sunday.
The almost constant torrent of rain
that battered England and Wales in a series of violent Atlantic storms
since Christmas has left flooding chaos in its wake, particularly on the
Somerset Levels, in the Midlands and along the Thames Estuary.
And the weather misery is set to continue after forecasters issued a severe weather warning for snow for tomorrow.
The yellow warning, which means 'be prepared', was issued by the Met Office for the last day of winter.
Forecasters
said areas on high ground across the Midlands and north of England as
well as some parts of Wales, will be most affected.
A
spokesman said: 'Rain will turn to snow for a time, mainly over the
high ground during Friday morning. Over low ground it is unlikely that
any snow will accumulate but many areas may see falling snow and slushy
deposits for a time.
'The public are advised to be aware of the potential for some disruption to travel especially during Friday morning rush hour'.
The Met Office said that it has been the wettest winter since records began almost 250 years ago.
Around
6,500 properties have been flooded this winter causing many families'
lives to be turned upside down and devastation to farmland.
