A NEW Year cold snap could bring snow for Shropshire residents, as forecasters predict snowfall for much of the UK over the weekend and into next week.
The Met Office has said that the UK will see a transition to more unsettled and wintry conditions into the New Year, with a snow and ice warning issued and more likely to come.
The recent dry spell is predicted to give way to rain across the UK on New Year’s Day and into Friday, January 2, but after that the north Shropshire region is likely to expect much colder conditions, with temperatures dipping below freezing.
Some areas could be in for a small chance of snow as early as Friday afternoon (January 2), including Whitchurch.
For Oswestry residents it is more likely to be Sunday or Monday that any snow flurries will arrive.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mark Sidaway said: “It certainly looks like we are in for a taste of winter as we welcome in the New Year, initially in the north, but more widely across the UK for the first week of 2026.”
Weather data website Netweather says there will be a moderate risk of snow in Oswestry and Whitchurch from Thursday but that this rises to a 95 per cent chance of at least some areas of the county seeing snow on Friday and Saturday.
A detailed weather map provided by Metdesk shows the entirety of northern Shropshire, and neighbouring Powys, being covered by a blanket of snow late into next week, especially from Thursday evening and into Friday morning.
According to a UK long range weather forecast from January 3-12: “Northerly winds will bring a spell of very cold, wintry conditions to much of if not all of the UK through at least the early part of this period.
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“These will bring snow showers to areas that are exposed to onshore winds. Subtle day-to-day changes in wind direction will change the places most exposed to the showers, but where they occur some significant accumulations of snow are likely.
“There are likely to be some more coherent bands of sleet and snow working south, and these may bring a risk of more prolonged and widespread wintry precipitation affecting some inland areas.
“Things become less certain by the second week of January, however it's possible the cold conditions may persist with an ongoing risk of winter hazards across much of the UK.”
A yellow national severe weather warning for snow and ice has already been issued in northern Scotland throughout New Year’s Day, with some significant accumulations possible by Friday morning.
“Arctic air and strong northerly winds will bring cold or very cold conditions to all parts of the UK, and it will feel especially cold in the strong winds,” said Mr Sidaway.
“Widespread and locally severe frosts are expected, along with the first snow of the winter for many.
“These colder conditions and wintry hazards – snow, ice and strong winds – will develop more widely as we enter the New Year, with more warnings for snow and ice likely.”
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