Status yellow snow and ice weather warning issued for Derry

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow and wind for Derry for Wednesday and Thursday of this week.

The warning, which was issued on Tuesday, covers Northern Ireland and Scotland from 1.00pm Wednesday until 3.00pm on Thursday.

Temperatures across the north are expected to drop sharply following a squally band of rain on Wednesday, with frequent heavy and blustery snow showers arriving from the Atlantic.

Away from immediate west-facing coasts, 2-5 cm, and in places 7-10 cm of snow is likely to build up even at low levels, whereas on higher ground some places could see 20-30 cm building up by Thursday morning.

The Met Office warns, showers will be accompanied by strong, blustery winds, with gusts of 50-60mph possible, and a small chance of 70mph on coasts. Blizzard conditions are likely over higher ground.

There is a very small chance that some of the showers could be accompanied by frequent lightning, which may could impact power supplies.

Snow showers are increasingly likely to turn back to rain and sleet at low levels later Thursday morning and early afternoon, although remaining as snow above 200-300m.