About 10 to 20cm of snow is expected across Wales on Friday.

The Met Office have issued a yellow weather warning of ice and snow for Wales which is in force from 12.05am Friday morning until 6pm on Saturday.

The cold weather front is expected to start over Northern Scotland late on Thursday before moving across other parts of the country and into Northern Ireland, Wales and Western England on Friday.

About 2-5 cm of snow is likely for some areas, with 10-20 cm possible over high ground, mainly Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Strong northwest winds may cause drifting of the snow in places with blizzard conditions possible at times across northern Scotland.

A chief forecaster's assessment reads: “The strongest winds will reach the North West early on Thursday, extending to the North East and Northern Isles in the afternoon.

“Winds will start to ease in the West by then with the strongest of the winds becoming confined to the Northern Isles in the evening.

“Snow showers will turn increasingly frequent and heavy across Northern Scotland during the evening.”

The heaviest and most frequent of the snow showers will progressively become confined to North East Scotland during Saturday.

Icy surfaces are expected to also be a hazard with some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and for train services due to icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

Everyone is urged to be careful as to prevent injury.