Yellow warnings were also in place for ice and snow in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland last night, with the north west of England also getting a warning for today (Friday) until 10am.

But it's tomorrow (Saturday) when the whole of England and Wales gets a snow and ice yellow warning from noon until nearly midnight on Sunday, according to the maps. Scotland then gets the same alert from midnight on Sunday until noon on Monday.

Looking further ahead, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued cold weather health alerts for all of England ahead of a week of freezing temperatures.

Amber alerts have been issued from 12pm on Thursday until January 8, meaning a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, is likely, the UKHSA warned.

Temperatures could fall as low as -8C on Thursday night in rural southern Scotland and northern England, the Met Office said. It will also be cold in rural Wales and the south west of England with -6C expected.

About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and the Pennines, the forecaster added. Strong winds could lead to snow drifts in some areas, and freezing rain as temperatures creep up could add to the risk of ice.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: "At the moment we've issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday but it doesn't mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow, it's just a heads-up there could be some impacts."

On Thursday, London councils activated an emergency accommodation protocol for people sleeping rough in freezing conditions.

Regions of England under a yellow weather warning for snow from 12pm on Saturday until 11.59pm on Sunday, according to the Met Office

East Midlands

Derby

Derbyshire

Leicester

Leicestershire

Lincolnshire

Northamptonshire

Nottingham

Nottinghamshire

Rutland

East of England

Bedford

Cambridgeshire

Central Bedfordshire

Essex

Hertfordshire

Luton

Norfolk

Peterborough

Southend-on-Sea

Suffolk

Thurrock

London & South East England

Bracknell Forest

Buckinghamshire

East Sussex

Greater London

Hampshire

Kent

Medway

Milton Keynes

Oxfordshire

Reading

Slough

Surrey

West Berkshire

West Sussex

Windsor and Maidenhead

Wokingham

North East England

Darlington

Durham

Gateshead

Hartlepool

Middlesbrough

Newcastle upon Tyne

North Tyneside

Northumberland

Redcar and Cleveland

South Tyneside

Stockton-on-Tees

Sunderland

North West England

Blackburn with Darwen

Blackpool

Cheshire East

Cheshire West and Chester

Cumbria

Greater Manchester

Halton

Lancashire

Merseyside

Warrington

South West England

Bath and North East Somerset

Bristol

Devon

Dorset

Gloucestershire

North Somerset

Somerset

South Gloucestershire

Swindon

Wiltshire

West Midlands

Herefordshire

Shropshire

Staffordshire

Stoke-on-Trent

Telford and Wrekin

Warwickshire

West Midlands Conurbation

Worcestershire

Yorkshire & Humber

East Riding of Yorkshire

Kingston upon Hull

North East Lincolnshire

North Lincolnshire

North Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

York

This Evening and Tonight:

A cold and frosty night for all with icy stretches possible, especially in the north, where wintry showers will persist in coastal areas exposed to the northerly winds. Patchy freezing fog is possible in the west under clear skies.

Friday:

Cold again with plenty of winter sunshine on offer, especially in the south and east. Wintry showers affecting northern and northwestern coasts, winds staying generally light.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Turning windy with rain, sleet and snow spreading northeast later on Saturday and into Sunday, turning milder in the south. Colder but drier again on Monday with wintry showers.