PARTS of the North-East and North Yorkshire woke up to snowfall last night and a warning that further wintry weather may be on the way.
Rain, sleet and snow is expected across broad swathes of northern England, with the region seeing blankets of snow on hilltops today, December 4.
A Met Office yellow warnings for ice and snow are in place across large areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland and stretch down into North Yorkshire could see people travel disruption.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern described early this morning as being that “awkward mixture of cold rain, sleet and falling snow” for many areas across the country.
So Leadgate Consett at 4:30am A68 had not been gritted or ploughed at this point. pic.twitter.com/gs6NUBQ0h0
— Northen Dave (@davePnixon91) December 4, 2020
The Met Office first said the cold spell is expected to last through to Friday but that the weekend would see brighter weather and even some sunshine, but swathes of the North-East are forecast for rain this weekend.
It added that temperatures going into next week would be lower than the average annual temperature, which is usually about 7-9C.
❄️It's day one of #ArchiveAdventCalendar on the theme #snow❄️
— NYCC Record Office (@nyccarchives) December 1, 2020
We've had our fair share of #snow in #NorthYorkshire over the years - as this amazing photo of #Middlesmoor in #Nidderdale during the winter of 1947 shows! pic.twitter.com/eBUJcUhEPF
As a result, the likes of Hexham and Billingham are forecast for hill snow while an online map showed that areas west of Barnard Castle, Stanhope and Richmond are most likely to be affected by weather warnings.
The rain has been relentless this evening more to come tomorrow & over the weekend with possible wintery showers. Much prefer full on snow. Nice wintery scene here Durham Cathedral standing tall & majestic above the River Wear. My favourite UK building. pic.twitter.com/kbCoXYETT9
— Spirit Of The Glen Wedding & Events Highland Piper (@GlenSpirit) December 3, 2020
But areas in the North-East and North Yorkshire have seen blankets of snow lying on the hills for days now.
There's SNOW place like #CountyDurham! ❄️☃️
— Durham County Council (@DurhamCouncil) December 3, 2020
This morning our gritter drivers were greeted with the first snow of the season as they salted the A689 High Pennines at 5.20am. The teams are still out and about treating roads in the High Pennines area. #letitsnow #snow pic.twitter.com/bPMRAWRXBn
With Christmas certainly set to be a strange one this year due to the pandemic, it may at least look at part if streets and landscapes turn white.
Let's take a look at the snow-hit region over the past decade:
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