MetOffice: "Early warning of severe weather"

EARLY WARNING OF SEVERE WEATHER

EARLY WARNING of Heavy Snow and Blizzards Issued by the Met Office at 10:29 on Wednesday, 23 November

OVERALL RISK ASSESSMENT: The probability of disruption due to severe weather conditions in part of the United Kingdom within the next 4 days is 90 percent.
This warning is an update to that issued at 10:15 on Tuesday 22 November 2005.
The Met Office is forecasting that very strong northerly winds will extend across the UK from Thursday to Saturday, with all areas at risk of seeing some snow. Current timings suggest that the onset of the wintry weather will be around 0600 Thursday in northern Scotland, 1800 Thursday for Northern Ireland across to northern England, and overnight Thursday/Friday for southern parts.
Areas at highest risk for snow will be northern and eastern Scotland along with Northern Ireland, where winds will also reach severe gale force. Showers will fall widely as snow over high ground where local blizzard conditions are expected giving significant accumulations of snow with drifting. Latest indications now suggest that there is now a higher risk of snow for Wales and southwest England on Friday, especially over hills and moors. Snow will also occur at low levels for a time.
On Friday night and Saturday, there is a risk of some snow affecting southern and central areas of England but confidence for this aspect remains low and further updates will be provided. By this stage, most of the snow in other areas of the UK will be restricted to high ground.
This warning will be updated by 1030 on Thursday 24th November 2005.