Rain and snow to continue overnight before UK cold snap eases

Drivers have been urged to remain vigilant on the slippery roads as the wet, wintry weather lingers across the UK.

Rain, sleet and snow fell in Britain on Tuesday as a result of a cold blast coming from eastern Europe.

The Met Office said the foul weather will continue overnight before easing on Wednesday morning.

“Give yourself some extra time with your journeys,” Met Office senior meteorologist Simon Partridge said on Tuesday afternoon.

“There is some heavy rain around.”

The heaviest rainfalls were recorded in Yorkshire, with Hull receiving about 20mm in the past 48 hours.

Snow fell in Exmoor in south-west England and also across the Pennines in the north, while strong winds buffeted the coast.

“We will see further snow over the high ground in England and Scotland. But it will be fairly wet stuff so it won’t stay for long,” Mr Partridge said.

The gusty winds, coming across from Russia and Poland, made the weather feel even colder after a warm summer and spring, Mr Partridge added.

But the cold blast and rain is predicted to ease on Wednesday as winds shift to a south-easterly direction.

“We will get back into a dryer spell,” Mr Partridge said.

Meteorologists are working on a longer-term winter forecast, and they expect it could be a wet season.

But at this stage they are not exactly sure what kind of winter the UK is in for.

“There are very little signs either way,” meteorologist Martin Bowles said.

“Climatology is saying it will be mostly wet and windy with a couple of colder spells.

“But we’re not expecting anything record-breaking at the moment.”