Met Office issue rare amber snow warning with 6 inches set to trigger power cuts

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    The Met Office has issued an extremely rare amber weather warning for snow, with six inches of the white stuff set to cause chaos.

    Snow has been coming down across the UK this week, with Scotland, northern England and southern England bearing the brunt of the Arctic conditions.

    There are already five yellow warnings for snow and ice in place, covering every nation in the UK in part, but now the Met Office has increased the severity of its guidance.

    READ MORE: UK weather map shows where it will snow this week and how many inches to expect

    The new amber warning will come into force from 3pm today (Tuesday, January 17), lasting until midnight, and spans northern Scotland. It awaits to be seen whether it will be extended into tomorrow (Wednesday, January 18).

    However, it doesn't just cover Highland areas. Both Inverness and Aberdeen, as well as a number of smaller towns, fall under the warning.

    The Met Office has told people: "Travel delays on roads are likely, stranding some vehicles and passengers.

    "Some delays and cancellations to rail and air travel are likely.

    "There is a good chance that some rural communities could become cut off.

    "Power cuts are likely and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected."

    The Met Office has also detailed exactly what they are concerned about, with a staggering amount of snow expected to settle on the ground.

    The warning reads: "Snow showers will turn heavy and prolonged at times across north Highland through Tuesday afternoon before extending southwards into Grampian on Tuesday evening.

    "Accumulations of 10 to 15cm (6in) are possible in places in a short space of time and snow will be drifting in the strong to gale force north to northwesterly winds.

    "Isolated thunderstorms are possible with lightning strikes an additional hazard. Showers will turn more to rain or sleet around coasts later with ice developing on untreated surfaces."

    Temperatures in Scotland (and most are the UK) are not expected to surpass 2C this afternoon.

    Western parts of the UK are expected to be slightly warmer, with 4C forecast in Wales and 5C in Devon.

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    • UK Weather
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