Met Office issues amber weather warning for snow and ice across Lancashire with widespread disruption

Snow will reach the south of the warning area later Saturday, then spread north across the rest of the area through Sunday morning.

Much of the warning area can expect 3-7 cm of snow. Areas above about 150 m will likely see 15-30 cm, with 40 cm for ground above 300 m, before snow begins to ease and clear by the end of Sunday.

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Areas affected include:

• Blackburn with Darwen.
• Blackpool.
• Cheshire East.
• Cheshire West and Chester.
• Cumbria.
• Greater Manchester.
• Halton.
• Lancashire.
• Merseyside.
• Warrington.

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What should I do?

It is safer not to drive in these conditions, but if you need to make an essential journey, consider alternative forms of transport, to keep you and others safe.

If you must drive, do this more safely by: using dipped headlights; accelerating gently, using low revs and changing to higher gears as quickly as possible; starting in second gear to help with wheel slip; maintaining a safe and steady speed, keeping distance from other vehicles; using a low gear to go downhill, avoiding braking unless necessary; steering into skids, not taking your hands of the wheel, and avoiding slamming on brakes.

If you need support you can call the British Red Cross Support Line on 0808 196 3651.

If you are worried about your health or that of somebody you know, ring NHS 111.