THE Met Office has extended its snow warning for Hampshire as a cold spell gets underway.

The yellow alert, which was previously for snow and ice, came into force at 12am on Monday and continued until 12pm on Wednesday, February 10.

Now the warning is just for snow and will be in place for Southampton and the rest of the county from 12am on Monday until around midnight on Wednesday.

The Met Office says: “Frequent snow showers may lead to travel disruption in places. Some places are likely to miss the showers altogether.”

A statement on the Met Office website says: “Warning extended to end of Wednesday, with ice dropped in favour of snow being the primary hazard."

In terms of what to expect, the Met Office says:

  • Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services. Small chance of longer travel delays in places with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel.
  • Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
  • Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths
  • There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
  • There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected

Much of the country will be under warnings for snow and ice this week as cold weather tightens its grip.

An amber cold weather alert has also been issued for the south east with a 90 per cent chance of severe cold conditions.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: “The UK is in for a notably cold and snowy period over the next week, with very cold air in place over the whole of the UK.”