Multiple snow warnings have been issued in the UK as a cold arctic blast continues to sweep the region, bringing widespread frost and snow. Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice are in place for most of England, Wales and Scotland, in addition to the warnings already active since the turn of the year. As per UK media reports, the temperatures could plunge well below freezing at the weekend with up to 30 cm (1ft) of snow expected.

Apart from the snow warnings, the whole of England is under amber health alerts which means there is a risk of a rise in deaths with NHS urging people to avoid venturing out, especially in the morning when the frost is thick.

Weather warnings issued so far:

• Starting Saturday noon (Jan 4) until midnight, a yellow warning for snow and ice will be in place, covering the entirety of England, apart from the south-west region and Wales.
   
• Another yellow warning for snow will be in place in most of Scotland from midnight on Sunday (Jan 5) until 12:00 GMT on Monday (Jan 6).
   
• A yellow warning is already in place for north-east Scotland, north-west England, western Wales and part of Northern Ireland until 10:00 GMT on Friday (Jan 3).  

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Flooding in Greater Manchester

While the warnings are in place, a ‘major incident’ was declared in Greater Manchester on Wednesday (Jan 1) as flooding forced homes to be evacuated and train lines to be closed. The Met Office has issued a warning about dangerous driving conditions and urged citizens to plan for routes, check for delays, road closures and if possible, delay travel.

Floods minister Emma Hardy said she met officials from the Environment Agency to “ensure that impacted communities are receiving the necessary support”.

“The government is working at pace to accelerate the building of flood defences through our new Floods Resilience Taskforce, so we can continue to protect people and their homes.”

As per Greater Manchester Police, Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan were the worst-affected areas due to the flooding.