Yellow weather warnings are currently in place across northern England today as Greater Manchester wakes up under a blanket of snow.
After forecasts have been suggesting for the past couple of days that the UK would be faced with a cold snap this week, and weather experts have been predicting that a covering of the white stuff would fall on much of Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England, and the North West in particular today, Greater Manchester has, in fact, woken up to a blanket of snow across the region this morning.
And snow is still falling in many places too, at the time of writing.
As the predictions have turned out to be true, the Met Office has issued several weather warnings for the day – including a yellow weather warning for snow and ice throughout Greater Manchester.
🌨️ Outbreaks of sleet and snow becoming more persistent this morning in parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England
Brighter spells in Wales and southern and central England with crisp winter sunshine
According to the Met Office, the North West’s yellow weather warning will be in place until Thursday evening, and it means further that snow showers, which may “merge into a longer spell of snow”, are likely to “cause disruption” for most of the day today (16 January).
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But what exactly should we expect from the day then? And what does this yellow weather warning actually mean?
Here’s what the Met Office has said could happen:
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Possible travel delays on roads, stranding some vehicles and passengers
Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services – such as mobile phone coverage
Possible delays or cancellations to rail and air travel
A chance of injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
Some rural communities could become cut off
Yellow weather warning issued as Greater Manchester wakes up under blanket of snow / Credit: Geograph | Pexels
Giving further insight into what’s coming up today and throughout this week, a Met Office spokesperson has commented: “Snow showers will continue to feed inland early on Tuesday morning across northern and western Scotland, parts of Wales, and North West England, where 2-5 cm of snow is possible over a few hours in some places.
“During the day, an area of more organised rain, sleet and snow is likely to move east with further showers following.
The UK is now in the grip of a cold plunge of Arctic air which has moved in from the north across the whole for the country❄️
“There is still some uncertainty in the track of more prolonged snow, and it is possible that at lower elevations across Wales and northern England, this could turn to rain for a time. However, there is a chance some places could see 5-10 cm perhaps 20 cm of snow, particularly across the northern half of Scotland and over higher ground elsewhere.”
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Greater Manchester residents are being advised to take extra care, plan and allow more time for any journeys needing to be made, and keep an eye on the Met Office website for weather updates.
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
News
Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Emily Sergeant -
16th January 2024 
