UK Weather: Met Office issues yellow weather warning as Troll from Trondheim brings 2 days of heavy snow

Two days of heavy snowfall are set to batter large parts of the UK this week, with yellow weather warnings issued as temperatures set to drop to as low as -10C in Scotland, potentially causing travel disruption and power cuts.

According to the Met Office, there's an increased chance of snow in Wales as well as northern and central England from Thursday (February 8), from 3am until 3am on Friday (February 9), due to cold arctic air from far north of Scotland. The snow warning follows two days of rain in western Scotland beginning Monday, which will then spread to parts of England and Wales on Tuesday, causing temperatures to fall below average for the time of year.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Almond said: “While the early part of this week will see some rain, at times heavy, gradually sinking southwards, there’s an increased signal for wintry hazards as we move through the week as cold air from the north moves over the UK. It’s from Thursday that the snow risk becomes more potentially impactful, as mild air attempts to move back in from the south, bumping into the cold air and increasing the chance of snow developing on the leading edge. While there are still lots of details to work out, the initial snow risk looks highest in northern England and Wales from Thursday. 1-2cm is possible to low levels, with 10-20cm possible over the highest ground within the warning area. This snow will likely gradually transition to sleet and rain later on from the south.”

The weather warning comes as experts say snow will fall in Scotland and even potentially down south as cold air, which has been dubbed the “Troll from Trondheim”, travels over from Norway. In its long-range forecast, the Met Office has also said there will be some hill snow over the weekend and that “there is a chance colder conditions could start to feature” in the second week of February.

The forecaster said: "Although there is still some uncertainty by the start of this period is it more probable that conditions will start to become drier and more settled overall for much of the UK with winds from the north. This would increase the likelihood of less mild, or colder conditions developing more widely and increasing the chance of snow, especially in the north and east."

The Met Office says although there's still some uncertainty on the positioning of weather fronts from Thursday and the exact position of any snow, the trend further ahead is for the colder conditions with more-scattered wintry showers to spread south, reaching most parts of the UK over the weekend, though there will be plenty of sunshine between times – but this will lead to some frost by night.

UK 5-day forecast

Today (February 5)

Most areas will have a dry, cloudy, windy but mild day. Patchy rain and fog affecting western hills. A few brighter breaks. Scotland will see more persistent rain, heaviest in the west, and with some snow in the northeast. Tonight, rain is moving south across Scotland and affecting Northern Ireland and northern England. Cloudy, windy, but mild further south with patchy drizzle. Clearer with wintry showers and icy patches further north.

Tuesday (February 6)

Rain, some heavy, continuing south across England and Wales. Staying mostly dry, but windy in the southeast. Brighter, colder weather developing across Scotland and Northern Ireland, with some wintry showers.

Mostly fine, but colder on Wednesday with early frost. Patchy rain far south and wintry showers in north. Rain, with some snow moving north across many areas Thursday and Friday.