Up to 25cm of snow is forecast in parts of England and Wales for Thursday, according to the Met Office.

There are two amber weather warnings in place for snow and ice, and five yellow weather warnings for rain, snow and ice across the UK on Thursday, some of which carry over to Friday.

The amber weather alerts are for parts of England and Wales while the yellow alerts cover most of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What do the warnings mean?

The Met Office has said the amber warnings mean there is a “good chance” rural communities are temporarily cut off, while travel delays on roads are likely and could strand some vehicles.

Power cuts are possible and mobile phone coverage may be affected.

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Delays and cancellations to rail travel are also likely, while untreated pavements and cycle paths are likely to be impassable.

Areas covered by yellow warnings for snow and ice could see longer journey times by road and for train and bus services.

There may be some icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, causing some injuries from slips and falls.

Where are the amber alerts and what time are they?

There’s an amber warning for snow across the Peak District and South Pennines in place from 12pm until 6pm on Thursday, with up to 25cm of snow forecast across high ground above 300m.

Specifically, it will affect:

• Derbyshire

• Staffordshire

• South Yorkshire

• West Yorkshire

The Met Office said strong and gusty easterly winds may lead to “some drifting in places”, and that 10-15cm of snow is expected quite widely across the warning area.

A separate amber warning for snow and ice will be in place between 8am and 3pm on Thursday in the following regions:

• Parts of North Wales (Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Powys, Wrexham)

• Northwest Shropshire

Up to 20-25cm of snow is forecast in areas above 200m.

The Met Office said that as milder air begins to arrive from the South, there is a chance that snow could turn to “freezing rain across some higher routes above 200m”.

Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota said an easterly wind meant that places “inland and higher up” were likely to see the most snow.

She said it was “unlikely” that significant levels of snow would be on the ground for days, but added it could lead to difficult driving conditions on Thursday, particularly through the afternoon and early evening.

The forecaster added that most places would see a return to milder conditions by the end of Thursday.

The areas impacted by yellow snow warnings today

The following regions have yellow snow and ice warnings in place from now until 6am on Friday:

• East Midlands

• North East England

• North West England

• Wales

• West Midlands

• Yorkshire and Humber

• Northern Ireland

There’s also a yellow snow and ice warning in the following parts of Scotland from 6pm on Thursday until 3pm on Friday:

• Central, Tayside and Fife

• SW Scotland, Lothian Borders

• Strathclyde

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Yellow rain warning

There are a few parts of the UK set to avoid snow this week, but rainfall may still affect them from now until 6am on Friday, warns the Met Office.

For areas under the yellow rain warning, it’s possible a few homes and businesses could be flooded.

Bus and train services will likely be affected with journey times taking longer, and there could be spray and flooding on roads.

Here are the areas affected:

• East of England

• London and South East England

• South West England

• Wales

• West Midlands (Herefordshire)

More warnings for Scotland until Saturday

While all other warning periods conclude on Friday, the following parts of Scotland will still have a yellow snow and ice warning in place from 3pm on Friday until 6pm on Saturday:

• Central, Tayside and Fife

• Grampian

• Highlands and Eilean Siar

• Orkney and Shetland

• Strathclyde

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