A rare weather event is likely to hit the UK in hours. The Met Office said that the “extremely hazardous” weather phenomenon is expected to batter the country between 2pm and 3pm on Sunday.
The National Weather Agency said that some parts of the Midlands may see ‘Freezing Rain’, a weather event which is highly common in the USA but not in the UK. It occurs when water droplets freeze almost instantly when they hit the ground. The rare weather phenomenon comes as Storm Goretti wreaked havoc across the country with heavy snowfall, wind and rain showers. It comes after Storm Goretti brought heavy snowfall to the UK, causing chaos across many parts of the country this week.
On Sunday, a spell of snow and ice is expected with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning between 2am and 3pm. As per the Met office, as part of this, freezing rain is expected.
The Met Office said: “A band of snow will move across the warning area during Sunday. Across northern England snow will mostly be confined to ground above 200 metres elevation, but across Scotland this could fall to low levels during the morning, before becoming increasingly confined to higher ground through the afternoon.
“Whilst not all areas will see accumulating snow at low levels, 2 to 5cm is likely in places, perhaps temporarily 10cm before snow turns back to rain.
“Above 200 metres elevation 10 to 20cm is possible, perhaps locally up to 30cm on hills exposed to the strong southerly winds, and over the highest parts of Scotland. Strong winds will lead to some drifting of the snow.
“Amounts of snow will depend quite heavily on both elevation and the intensity of precipitation, and as the band pushes east through the afternoon, it will begin to transition to an awkward mix of rain, sleet and snow.
“Therefore there is likely to be a lot of variation, even over relatively short distances. In addition, there is a risk of freezing rain across the east of the area for a few hours after dawn on Sunday morning, perhaps leading to widespread ice that would affect all surfaces.
“Ice from freezing rain, also know as black ice or glaze, is difficult to see and difficult to clear.”
The Met Office explained that freezing rain is more common in other parts of the world, for example in the USA, where weather systems produce a lot of freezing rain.
It added: “These are called ice storms, and if enough glaze collects on trees or power lines, the weight of the ice can cause them to break and can result in disruption on a large scale.”
