Met Office extends Tyne & Wear weather warning with potential for up to 5cm of snow

The warning, which is in place for Sunderland, Newcastle, and South Shields, was originally due to finish at 6pm on Thursday.

The Met Office are now warning of up to 5cm of snow at lower levels.

In an updated statement a Met Office spokesperson said: “Wintry showers feeding inland from the North Sea through Wednesday and Thursday may give some snow accumulations in places, especially farther inland away from the immediate windward coast.

“Whilst there will be a lot of regional variation, with some places seeing little or no lying snow, where showers are most frequent accumulations of 2-5 cm are possible.

“However, the North York Moors, and perhaps parts of the Yorkshire Wolds, could potentially receive 15-25 cm of snow by Thursday, leading to some significant disruption.

“Gusty winds and perhaps a few lightning strikes may accompany some of the showers, posing as additional hazards. Where showers persist and/or snow partially thaws and then refreezes overnight, this will bring a risk of ice.”

The current Met Office forecast for Tyne and Wear suggests a 90% chance of snow showers between 7am and 9am on Wednesday, before turning more to sleet by late morning.

There is then a 50% to 60% chance of snow showers returning throughout the afternoon before conditions dry up for a period before further snow showers are forecast to return between 6am and 9am on Thursday morning.

The showers are currently forecast to turn more to sleet by late morning and into the afternoon.

Throughout this period, temperatures are forecast to fall overnight to minus two degrees Celsius, rising to just three degrees Celsius during the day.

This is the Met Office forecast at the time of writing and is obviously subject to change.