UK faces power cut warnings as ’15-hour snow storm’ looms

Grab the torches and tea lights

Households are being warned that an Arctic blast will bring potential disruption across various areas of England , with power supplies affected and travel warnings in place.

The Met Office has issued a 15-hour yellow weather warning for ice and snow, starting at 7pm on Monday and continuing through to 10am on Tuesday.

In Scotland, snow will start even earlier, with a warning in place from 4pm.

Households in 13 major cities including Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Stoke, Chester, Lincoln, Derby, York, Durham and Hull have been urged to prepare for power outages.

Bangor in North Wales, Carlisle, Middlesborough and the whole of Yorkshire will be affected by the yellow weather warning.

The Met Office said: "People cope better when they have prepared in advance for the risk of power cuts or being cut off from services and amenities due to the snow.

"It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items."

The warning continued: "Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

"The most likely scenario is for most of the snow to accumulate on hills, with 5 to 10 cm possible above 200 metres and perhaps as much as 15 to 20 cm above 300 metres.

"There is a small chance of snow settling at lower levels, where 5 to 10 cm would prove much more disruptive, but this remains very uncertain.

"As rain, sleet and snow clear on Tuesday morning, ice may form on untreated surfaces."