Met Office issues weather warning for Snow and ice in Formby

Queens Road in the snow of March 2006

Light flurries of Snow have already fallen on our Bubble this afternoon but snow will fall again in Formby and across Merseyside this evening. A yellow weather warning for snow and ice has been issued by the Met Office with snow expected to fall from 8pm this evening.

The warning is in place for many regions in Merseyside including: Formby, Ainsdale to Southport and Maghull, which are all due to see snow tonight. A band of cloud which will move in today will cause snow to fall and temperatures to drop to a minimum of -4 °C.

A Met Office spokesman said: “A spell of rain, quickly turning to sleet and snow, will move southeast across the UK on Monday night and Tuesday, gradually weakening across England and Wales. “Some roads and railways may be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train.”

The Met Office had its warning in place until Tuesday at 3pm but it has now been extended into Wednesday until 9.30am.

Merseyside as a whole will continue to be affected on Tuesday with sleet, snow and hail showers, some of which will be heavy, moving in.

The Met Office also warned people to be careful in the wintry weather. A spokesman added: “Icy patches are likely to develop on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, leading to an increased risk of injuries and accidents.”

The outlook for Wednesday through to Friday is cold and bright and after the warning of snow and ice lifts on Wednesday there will be sunny spells.

Rain, sleet and hill snow will move southeast on Thursday, followed by blustery showers.

And then frosty overnight with cold and wintry showers on Friday.

Wicks Lane in the snow of 2006

The Bay Horse in Formby in the snow of 2010 - Photo by Carol Roberts

Woodlands School in the snow of March 2006

St Peters Church in the snow

Take a look at these incredible pictures above of when snow covered Formby in 2010.

It was during the evening of Friday, December 17, 2010 that snow began to fall - it was very thick, it came down fast, and it didn’t stop until it was inches deep across Formby, from Formby Beach, to the Pinewoods, to Chapel Lane.

Trains and buses were off, traffic skidded to an icy stop.

At the time the mountains of snow everywhere were great for building snowmen, and for snowball fights.

For everyone else it was not so good, as we braved four weeks of record low temperatures, with ice and snow that just didn’t want to budge and temperatures that reached as low as -18C.

Southport & Formby District General Hospital saw a “significant increase” in the number of people admitted to casualty – as a result of pavement slips.

Gritters worked overtime to ensure the roads were as safe as possible as experts warned that the blanket of snow was unlikely to thaw soon.