Snow warning for Thursday morning in Northamptonshire

Weather experts are predicting several hours of snow for Northamptonshire tomorrow morning.

Just days after the county was battered by Storm Ciara and then Storm Dennis, the Met Office issued a yellow alert forecasting sleet showers overnight and snow on Thursday (February 27).

Some local weather watchers expect the falls could last for up to five hours in parts of the county as temperatures drop and wintry weather arrives from the west.

Northamptonshire largely escaped snowfalls which hit parts of the north Midlands earlier this week.

But a spokesman for the Met Office said today: "Rain and hill snow will move eastwards late Wednesday evening and during the early hours of Thursday and is expected to cause some travel disruption.

"In parts of the Midlands, one-to-three centimetres of snow is likely above 150 metres. Away from hills, rain may turn to sleet and snow for a time over parts of the Midlands, East Anglia and the northern Home Counties.

"Accumulations at these low-levels will be mostly small, especially on roads, but a centimetre or so is possible in one or two places.

"Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road and public transport.

"Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

"Rain, sleet and snow will quickly clear by late morning and any snow at lower levels will soon thaw."

The Met Office alert kicks in at midnight tonight with temperatures tumbling towards freezing and is currently due to expire at 12 noon tomorrow, although that could be extended.

Gritters from Highways England treating major roads in the county while Northamptonshire Highways' fleet of 22 lorries is on stand-by to cover 1,157 miles of A and B roads from 6pm tonight.

A Northamptonshire County Council spokesman said: "Our aim is to make roads as safe as is practical.

"Occasionally, though, gritting arrangements do not go to plan and that the majority of minor roads will receive no treatment at all. You should never assume a road has been treated and drive in accordance with the conditions."