North-west of England faces icy blast after floods

Emergency services, councils and transport bosses across the north-west of England are bracing themselves for more severe weather, just days after the region was hit by widespread and severe flooding.

Amber weather warnings for snow and ice issued by the Met Office mean "significant disruption" is expected from 21:00 GMT on Saturday and they will remain in force throughout Sunday.

A yellow warning of heavy rain and thawing snow throughout Sunday means there could be further flooding in some areas, leading to transport disruption, according to the BBC Weather Centre.

Torrential rainfall late on New Year's Eve and into New Year's Day led to homes being evacuated in many parts of the North West.

Flooding also caused major disruption on the roads and the cancellation of trains across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside and Lancashire.

A spokesman for Transport for Greater Manchester said "the last few days have been challenging".

Despite going through a challenging few days, he said they were still prepared "for anything the weather can throw at us".

Senior BBC meteorologist Nikki Berry said: "Saturday is set to be largely dry during daylight hours, but after dark an area of sleet and snow will push in from the south-west.

"There is a risk of some freezing rain [on Sunday morning], which could be extremely hazardous.

"Snow may continue into Lancashire on Sunday afternoon with as much as 15-20cm over high ground.

"Wintry conditions should ease on Sunday night but cold Arctic air will spread back south on Monday and stay in place for much of next week. with some wintry showers and widespread overnight frosts.

"Significant disruption looks likely for parts of north-west England, hence amber warnings being issued."

Danny Vaughan, chief network officer of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), said: "We've prepared in advance for anything the weather can throw at us.

"We are working with local authorities and bus operators to make sure all routes into different bus depots will be well-gritted ahead of time.

"Our incident response teams have been stepped up, so we can keep an eye on the tram, rail, and highway network.

"The last few days have been challenging, but we plan for the worst and are always ready to respond."

In Merseyside, Liverpool City Council said it was "monitoring the situation closely".

It also said it was in touch with the region's bus operators to make sure "plans are in place" to cope with the wintry conditions.

Travellers are advised to plan their journeys before setting out, factor in extra time to complete them, and regularly check operators' websites and social media accounts for updates.

Grit is one of the essential tools deployed by councils when the mercury plummets.

Lancashire County Council said teams were "ready to work around the clock" if needed.

"We are prepared throughout the winter to keep our roads moving," said a spokesman.

"We always have a dedicated staff of drivers, and thousands of tonnes of salt, ready to keep our 45-strong fleet of gritters working around the clock if we need to.

Likewise, Manchester City Council said it had already started gritting the region's roads, and would use special machines to clear surface water.

It said: "We are continually monitoring weather forecasts and highway conditions, and will continue to assess/action gritting over the weekend.

"Gully Machines are available to clear blocked gullies and clear shallow pooling water."

On Thursday, Greater Manchester's Mayor Andy Burnham said the north-west of England's weather was becoming "highly unpredictable".

He said "once-a-century" weather events were now happening "every year or so".

He also promised to examine the response to the recent flooding.

Danny Vaughan, from TfGM, said: "The floods are not something I've personally seen before to that extent in Manchester, but the transport network coped reasonably well, even if the rail services suffered."

Speaking about the freezing conditions forecast for this weekend, Nikki Berry from the BBC Weather Centre said: "This weather is not particularly unusual for January.

"Snow and ice warnings are issued for north-west England most years in January.

"Amber warnings for snow are a little more unusual but there was one covering high parts of northern England during Storm Bert in November last year."