Snow and strong winds alert for south of England

There are warnings for heavy snow and strong winds across the south of England due to Storm Goretti.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for snow in some areas, meaning delays and disruption are expected, with up to 25cm (10in) predicted in hillier regions.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) also said the whole of England would remain under an amber cold weather health alert until Sunday.

The wintry conditions are driven by Goretti, which has been named as the first storm of the year by French forecasters.

The Met Office said the most likely scenario was for low pressure to track near the south coast.

“Near and south of the low, heavy rain and strong winds are more likely, whilst snow could accumulate to the north as it encounters cold air,” it said.

But it also said there was some uncertainty over the exact track of the storm.

Winds are expected to ease early on Friday.

A spell of heavy rain will move into the south-west on Thursday morning.

In some places through the afternoon and evening it will turn to sleet and snow.

Parts of Oxfordshire, west Berkshire, Wiltshire and Buckinghamshire are in the yellow snow warning area.

The Met Office says there could be 5 to 10cm of snow quite widely in the warning area, with scope for 15 to 25cm in places, especially on some hills above 200m (656ft) elevation.

The Met Office snow warning comes into place from 17:00 GMT on Thursday until 00:00 on Friday.

Along with the snow there will be strong winds for southern parts of Hampshire and Dorset.

There is a Met Office wind warning in place from 13:00 on Thursday until 06:00 on Friday.

As Storm Goretti approaches, winds will strengthen through Thursday afternoon, with the strongest spell of winds during the evening.

Peak gusts of 50 to 60mph are likely, reaching 60 to 70mph along exposed coasts and hills.

Councils have been employing gritters across their busiest routes.

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust warned drivers to take extra care on the roads, citing an incident on Tuesday where four people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.

“Suspected black ice on an untreated road caused this vehicle to come off the road and into a tree,” it said.

In Reading, nine school children were injured following a crash between a bus and a coach on a slip road on Wednesday, in which the coach’s operator said ice could have been a factor.

Dr Elizabeth Smout, lead consultant in health protection at UKHSA South West, said: “The current cold snap is now expected to last at least until this weekend.

“We know that prolonged exposure to low temperatures can have a severe impact on people’s health, especially if they are older or have serious health conditions.”

BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole) Council, Havant Borough Council, Slough Borough Council, and Oxford City Council are among the authorities with severe weather emergency protocols in place to help vulnerable people sleeping rough.

Southampton City Council also said its street homeless prevention team was carrying out extra outreach work to locate rough sleepers.