New ice weather warning issued for Staffordshire after 'wintry showers' fall

The Met Office issued the yellow warning at 5am on Monday, as temperatures hovered around freezing.

Covering the western half of the county, forecasters said that wintry showers falling onto cold surfaces would lead to icy stretches this morning, with the warning in place until 11am.

The Met Office also warned people to allow more time for journeys to reduce "the risk of accidents, slips, and falls".

The warning covers Staffordshire, as well as neighbouring Shropshire and Cheshire, as well as parts of mid and north Wales and Merseyside.

Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick said that temperatures will be about 5C (41F) to 6C (42.8F) lower than usual for this time of year.

Mr Eslick said: "Especially towards the North where we do have these warnings, we're likely to see some travel disruption.

"Essentially we're looking at a strong northerly wind which is bringing in Arctic airmass which is cold, which is bringing in these wintry showers," he said.

Temperatures in the county are set to go no higher than 2C (35.6F) today, dipping below freezing in the early evening.

It's the second yellow weather warning to be issued for the county this week.

From midnight on Wednesday, a 48-hour weather warning for snow is in place, with forecasters predicting "frequent snow showers".

That warning covers the northern half of the county, Telford and Wrekin, Staffordshire and parts of mid Wales.