Rob Hutchinson, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said around 40 to 50cms (16 to 19 inches) of snow could fall in Wales in a 48- hour period beginning last night.He said it was unlikely that Yorkshire would see that level of downfall, but could not rule out the potential of more snow tomorrow, particularly over the Pennines, South Yorkshire and the north Midlands.

Forecasters warned of widespread icy roads until late this morning in north east England, and Yorkshire and the Humber .Mr Hutchinson said last night: “Initially we will see rain and sleet falling, but that will increasingly turn to snow overnight and the worst hit area of Britain is going to be Wales, particularly on the high ground. “Higher parts of the West Midlands will also suffer, and this is looking like a significant snowfall event, which will set in late on Monday night and continue well into Wednesday or even later in the week.

“There are still some question marks over how far this weather band will progress northwards and it looks like a large part of Yorkshire may just about escape the worst of it, but we are not certain.”A roaring easterly wind is expected which will bring scattered sleet and snow showers in many parts of Yorkshire for the next few days so it is going to be pretty nasty out there.” Temperatures are expected to plunge to minus 3C in many areas of the region on Thursday night, New Year’s Eve, and minus 8C in Scotland, with widespread snow showers predicted.

New Year’s Day will also be chilly, with most parts of Yorkshire struggling to get above freezing during the day, and forecasters predicting London will do well to reach 4C. Several football matches were postponed yesterday and inspections revealed that pitches at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster and Chesterfield’s b2net stadium were frozen. Sheffield Wednesday’s clash at Blackpool was called off because of the freezing conditions, and racing at Catterick was also abandoned owing to snow. A New Year’s Day fun run has also been cancelled because of wintry conditions.

The Beverley Lions’ Club called off the run round the streets of Beverley for health and safety reasons.Last night, the Welsh Assembly government said contingency plans were ready to keep main roads open in extreme weather and added its stock of salt for motorways was available as a reserve supply to help local councils grit roads.Passengers due to fly from Cardiff Airport were advised to check flights were on schedule if there was snow. (Courtesy : yorkshirepost.co.uk)