Snow on the way as amber cold-health alert issued

The Met Office has issued a new weather warning for Monday – and said that snow showers are on the way that could turn “quite heavy”.

A yellow warning will come into force at 4am and states that ice and snow are likely to affect roads and train services in parts of Greater London, Kent, Surrey, East Sussex and West Sussex.

Meanwhile, an amber cold-health alert has been issued by the Met Office and the UK Health Security Agency for the North West of England, West Midlands, East Midlands and South West of England. This will be in place until Friday.

A yellow cold-health alert remains for the North East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, East of England, South East of England and London for the next few days.

It comes as many parts of the country attempt to recover from the aftermath of Storm Henk, which caused widespread flooding and two deaths.

See the latest weather forecast for your area

The yellow weather warning states that temperatures will drop to near zero in the early hours of Monday morning as “a mix of sleet and snow showers” moves in, the Met Office has said.

Their forecasters predict that the heaviest snow will fall over the North Downs in Sussex.

The Met Office has warned the public that journeys may take longer on Monday morning and urged people to allow extra time for journeys and try to stick to main roads when walking or cycling.

Sky weather presenter Jo Wheeler said: “At this time of year, clearer conditions with light winds are likely to result in overnight frosts, fog and icy stretches on roads and pavements.

“Today, we’re seeing a cold pool of air moving into southern areas with the potential for overnight showers to fall as sleet or snow over the higher ground.

“With night-time temperatures close to freezing, even in the towns and cities, there’s also a risk of showers falling on frozen surfaces and turning instantly to ice.”

The yellow ice warning expires at 10am on Monday.

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An amber cold-health alert “means cold weather impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service for an extended period of time, with potential for the whole population to be at risk,” according to the latest announcement.

The UK Health Security Agency has urged anyone with pre-existing medical conditions, or over the age of 65, to be especially cautious of the cold weather and to “heat the rooms where you spend most of your time” in the coming days.

Parts of England are already facing travel problems as rail services between London Paddington, Heathrow Airport and Reading have today faced major disruption.

Damage to overhead wires caused delays of up to an hour, with revised timetables being put in place.

Government under pressure after Storm Henk

Storm Henk devastated parts of the country earlier this week and today the government was urged to “wake up and smell the flood water” amid fears climate change is making extreme weather events more common.

Over 1,800 UK properties have flooded and the Environment Agency has warned more homes will be affected as river levels remain high.

The government has unveiled a financial package for eligible areas of the UK that have faced exceptional localised flooding.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has travelled to Oxfordshire to meet members of the public who have been affected.

He spoke to people on their doorsteps before meeting Environment Agency workers at a depot near a road which remains flooded.

Speaking to six workers, Mr Sunak said: “Gosh it’s very busy but largely you’ve been successful getting everything to safety?”

After the workers responded with “yes”, the prime minister said: “When it happens, it happens, you’ve just got to keep working.”