UK weather full list of areas with fog warning, when will cold snap end?

Forecasters have issued a fog warning for parts of the country but said the UK is “over the worst” of the cold snap.

The Met Office said parts of England will be hit by difficult driving conditions while freezing temperatures could see untreated surfaces become slippery. The yellow weather warning will be in place between 2am on Sunday (22 January) and 11am on Monday (23 January), with Yorkshire down to East Anglia expected to see the densest fog.

It means travel delays are likely and flights could be cancelled. But Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said the worst of the cold spell is over, with temperatures expected to climb next week across the whole of the UK.

The cold snap has seen the mercury slip below zero with spells of snow widespread. Manchester Airport was forced to temporarily close due to snowfall this week.

Here is all you need to know:

What does the fog warning say?

On its website, the Met Office explains: “Freezing fog will lead to difficult driving conditions and could cause travel delays in some areas on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Probable slower journey times by car, with delays to bus and train services possible.

“Untreated surfaces may become slippery, leading to increased chance of accidents or injuries. There is a chance of delays or cancellations to flights.

“Areas of freezing fog are expected to develop on Saturday night, dense in places and perhaps slow to clear on Sunday. Visibility as low as 50 to 100 metres could be encountered in a few areas and some untreated surfaces could turn icy, this combination meaning potentially difficult driving conditions.”

Where is the warning in place for?

The yellow alert has been issued for the following areas:

East Midlands

• Derby
• Derbyshire
• Leicester
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Northamptonshire
• Nottingham
• Nottinghamshire
• Rutland

East of England

• Bedford
• Cambridgeshire
• Central Bedfordshire
• Essex
• Hertfordshire
• Norfolk
• Peterborough
• Suffolk

London & South East England

• Bracknell Forest
• Buckinghamshire
• East Sussex
• Greater London
• Hampshire
• Kent
• Milton Keynes
• Oxfordshire
• Reading
• Slough
• Surrey
• West Berkshire
• West Sussex
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Wokingham

West Midlands

• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• West Midlands Conurbation

Yorkshire & Humber

• East Riding of Yorkshire
• Kingston upon Hull
• North East Lincolnshire
• North Lincolnshire
• North Yorkshire
• South Yorkshire
• West Yorkshire
• York

When will the cold snap end?

Snell, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “Next week, looking at the severe front, it’s looking pretty benign. We’re starting to lose the risk of fog and temperatures are generally around where they should be.

“We’ll probably lose the really hard frosts. In terms of ice and snow, it certainly looks like we’re over the worst. We’ve got to keep an eye on risk of fog generally this cold spell, although the main hazards from it look like they are beginning to diminish.”

Overnight temperatures across the country are still forecast to be sub-zero during the weekend, and will climb to highs of around 5C in the South East and 10C in the North.

Snell explained the temperatures would be lower in the South – which is often warmer than other areas of the country – because of a change in wind direction in the North West. The change will see an Arctic blast that swept across the UK over the past five days giving way to warmer air from the Atlantic, but will take longer to reach southern areas.

Sports called off due to freezing temperatures

Several sports fixtures have been called off and travel cancelled on Saturday following the freezing conditions. The Sky Bet Championship match between Blackpool and Huddersfield was postponed due to a frozen pitch and a race meeting at Haydock was cancelled because of an icy track.

The CalMac ferry, which operates services from mainland Scotland to the islands off its west coast, also cancelled sailings due to the weather. National Rail said there was disruption to trains between Three Bridges in Wessex and and Brighton, Hove and Sussex due to a points failure but did not specify whether this was caused by ice.