Lancashire weather: yellow warning for ice and snow points to risk of difficult driving conditions during Monday rush hour

The Met Office alert - which was issued on Sunday evening and is due to remain in place until midday on Monday - warns that “difficult travel conditions” are likely to result from overnight freezing temperatures that will make driving, cycling and walking hazardous.

Rain was likely to fall as snow at “relatively low levels” late on Sunday and into the early hours of Monday across parts of northern England, giving a few centimetres of cover locally.

However, snow should become confined to higher ground over time, leading to accumulations of 2-5cm on some roads above 150 metres and perhaps as much as 10-15cm on routes above around 350 metres. Any flurries will die out from the north through Monday.

In Lancashire, only coastal areas around Blackpool, Lytham, Thornton-Cleveleys and Fleetwood escape the warning.

ADVICE FOR DRIVING ON ICE

The Met Office says that while it is safer not to drive at all in icy conditions, essential journeys can be made safer by:

**looking well ahead for potential hazards and keeping your speed down;

***accelerating, braking, steering and changing gear as smoothly as possible to reduce the risk of a skid.

***using a higher gear, which may be more appropriate to help grip on packed ice and manage engine power making it easier to find traction.