THE Met Office has issued a ‘Yellow Warning’ for the north west, including Manchester.

A statement from the Met Office said: “An area of rain will move across the UK from the south on Friday afternoon and into the evening.

“As this rain arrives, it will fall as snow above approximately 250 m over England and Scotland, but may fall to low levels for a time.

“Temporary accumulations of two to five cm are possible in places, mainly above 250 m, with up to 10 cm possible over the highest routes in Scotland.

“The public should be aware of the potential for very poor conditions and disruption to travel due to snow as well as temporary blizzard conditions over the higher routes, due to strong winds accompanying the system.

“Another storm has developed to the west of the Azores. This will then run north-eastwards across the UK during Friday and into Saturday, before clearing to the north-east.

“The associated frontal systems will bring spells of heavy and persistent rain as well as the risk of snow on the northern flank of the system. Further strong winds are also expected with this system.

“There remains some uncertainty in the timings and the intensity of this system that makes the potential for snow finely balanced “ It seems most likely that some snow will fall over the high ground of northern England and Scotland and perhaps to lower levels for a time in Northern Ireland and western Scotland.

“With the strong winds, travel conditions are likely to be very poor with blizzard conditions possible at times on Friday afternoon and evening over the higher routes.”