Storm Bert Northern Ireland: PSNI warn of hazardous driving on snow and ice as Province prepares for latest storm

The warning comes after a Met Office Yellow Weather for snow and ice, which was in place until 10am this morning.

The PSNI said on X: "Driving conditions are hazardous on many routes across Northern Ireland this morning due to snow and freezing temperatures. Reduce your speed and drive to suit the conditions."

A further yellow warning for snow and ice is in place from midnight tonight until 11am on Saturday morning, affecting all counties of Northern Ireland.

The Met Office warned Northern Ireland: "Storm Bert will bring a spell of rain, preceded by snow in places, on Friday night into Saturday which may cause some disruption".

It warned to expect travel times would be slowed, there may be flooding on roads and some homes and businesses and that power supplies may be disrupted.

The forecaster said: "Outbreaks of rain on Friday night and into Saturday morning may be preceded by a spell of snow for a time, especially on high ground in northern and western areas. Exactly where snow falls will depend quite heavily on both elevation and the intensity of precipitation, with any snow accumulations at low levels likely small and fairly short-lived.

"However, there is the chance of temporary accumulations of 5-10 cm on ground typically above 150m and perhaps as much as 10-20 cm over mountain tops.

"Any snow will quickly revert to rain on Saturday morning, with rain accumulations of 20-30 mm likely fairly widely, and perhaps as much as 40-60 mm on more exposed hills.

“This, in conjunction with a rapid thaw of any lying snow, may cause some surface water and river flooding."

Storm Bert is set to reach the UK on Saturday and the Met Office is expecting it to bring “heavy rain, strong winds and disruptive snow to parts of the UK through the weekend”, potentially causing travel disruption and flooding.

Overnight on Thursday, the Met Office said much of the UK experienced temperatures near freezing, with the mercury falling as low as minus 6C at Tulloch Bridge in Scotland.

The forecasting body said many people woke this morning to a frost with icy surfaces in places with several yellow warnings for snow and ice in place across the UK until 10am this morning.

One covering parts of Scotland was in effect until midday, before a slew of further yellow alerts for wind, rain and snow go live on Saturday.

An amber alert for heavy snow and ice will be in force between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in an area north of Scotland’s central belt, where 10-20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres and potentially as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400 metres.

The warning covers parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire and some of the Highlands and Argyll and Bute.

Met Office meteorologist Honor Criswick said: “Through into Friday… snow showers are set to continue mainly around coastal areas though once again still a few feeding inland at times.

“There will also still be plenty of autumnal sunshine. Still feeling cold though, particularly in those brisk winds – once again we’re only looking at highs of around 5C, slightly higher in the south west around 7C.

“Across the north those temperatures struggling to move past 2-3C.

“As we head into Friday evening, a change is on its way as we introduce Storm Bert moving its way in from the Atlantic. So we’ll see clouds spilling in from the south west with outbreaks of rain – heavy at times by the time we reach Saturday morning.”

Ms Criswick said there are likely to be “heavy” outbreaks of rain throughout Saturday, “falling as snow” at times across northern parts of England and parts of Scotland.

The wintry weather affected education, with more than 114 schools shut in the Highland Council area on Thursday because of snow, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day will be rescheduled.

Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire were also shut while many others had delayed openings and in Moray around 12 were closed and others opened late.

It comes after more than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland on Wednesday because of the weather.

South of the border, 89 schools were shut in Devon on Thursday, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall, while in Wales around 10 were closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.