Drivers are being urged to fill up their cars so they are at least 'half full' with petrol or diesel before Friday this week. British Gas has issued a slate of advice to households and to drivers to help them prepare for cold and snowy weather. It’s relevant this week as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for two days of snow in parts of the UK, with more snow following in other areas by Friday morning.
Scotland has been hit with a 39-hour warning from Tuesday at midnight into Wednesday at 3pm, and then areas of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland can all expect snow by the early hours of Friday morning too, according to the Met Office's latest forecast map.
Much of the North and Midlands in England including Manchester, Birmingham, Nottingham, Sheffield, Stoke and Leicester as well as much of the north of and central Wales can expect snow by Friday especially on higher ground, the Met Office's latest weather maps show.
British Gas, in its advice to drivers, urges motorists to prepare their car for snow by having their brakes, heater, tyres and windscreen wipers checked to make sure they’re in good working order. And it adds that in snowy conditions, you should keep your tank half full.
It says: “Have your brakes, heater, tyres and windscreen wipers checked to make sure they're in good working order before winter.
“And if you can keep your fuel tank half full during snowy conditions, all the better.”
The theory behind this is that it prevents condensation and fuel line freezing, and you will have plenty of fuel for journeys where you may end up slower than normal due to travel disruption, as well as using fuel to run heaters and lights, so having a tank at least half full reduces the risk of running out in the snow (if you must travel at all).
The Met Office said about the weather warning on Tuesday: “Rain feeding into eastern and northern Scotland will increasingly fall as sleet and then snow through Tuesday and into Wednesday. By Wednesday accumulations of 1-3cm are expected above 100 metres, with perhaps up to 5cm in some places. For ground above 200 metres, accumulations of 10cm are expected with some places locally seeing up to 20cm.
"At low levels precipitation will be a mix of rain, sleet and snow which could lead to some small snow accumulations in places.
"Strong winds at times will lead to blizzard conditions and drifting of lying snow, especially in the north of the warning area."
And on Friday's forecast it said: "Frontal systems over the Atlantic, steered by a south-shifted jet stream, are likely to approach the UK at times, but tending to stall as they encounter a blocking area of high pressure to the north and northeast. This will result in further spells of rain at times, falling in areas already sensitive to flooding. As these bands of rain spread northwards, some snow will be possible in northern England and Scotland, mainly over higher ground, as they encounter colder air.
"A subtle shift southwards of these areas of low pressure is anticipated during the second week of February, which may allow a greater chance of colder air to spread across larger parts of the UK, including the south, bringing an increased risk of wintry hazards for a time."