'BIG snowflakes' have been seen across Essex as the aouth of England has been issued a cold weather alert which is due to last until Saturday.

Essex residents have seen unexpected snow today, as both the Met Office and UKHSA warn that all of the south-east will experience cold weather from until Saturday.

Snow has been seen in parts of south Essex this morning including Hadleigh, Leigh and Benfleet. 

Schools in Yorkshire have closed with rail disruption taking place across the north of England, with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning for the North of England and the Midlands. 

While the Met Office have said nationally, that this week will be "unusually cold" with temperatures "widely well below average" for November, with temperatures for the majority of the country, including Essex, being about 6 degrees Celsius below the November average. 

Further, the health agency the UKHSA has warned the colder weather is likely to cause significant impacts across the health and social care services.

The UKHSA have identified the potential impact the alert could have on services, including:

  • a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. There are also see impacts on younger age groups
  • a likely increase in demand for health services
  • temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks
  • challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
  • staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
  • other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)