How long will this latest cold snap last for?

You probably heard it last night.

The strong, whistling wind beating against your windows and doors, while the rain chucked down in the background.

If you’re up in Scotland, you’re probably going to be hit with showers of snow later on today – sorry about that.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice for Friday morning, covering an area north of Stirling and around Fort William.

Up to 5cm of snow is expected across the region, with 10cm possible on higher ground, and there may be travel disruption in the area as well as icy surfaces.

But all hope is not lost as it looks like we could be reaching the end of this cold snap sooner than we originally though.

Grahame Madge, Met Office spokesman, told Metro: ‘The current cold spell has reached its peak and we are not expecting people to experience any worse conditions than they currently have already.

‘Those at higher elevations in northern England and Scotland may continue to see wintry showers or icy conditions for a while, but only for the next 24 hours or so.’

Forecasters said that in Scotland and England, gusts of 50-55mph are expected widely, while some coastal areas and places downwind of high ground could see gusts of 60mph or even 70mph.

They warned of potential delays to road, rail, ferry and air transport and said there may be some short-term loss of power and other services.

ScotRail warned passengers that journeys may take a little longer as Network Rail Scotland has put speed restrictions in place on some routes due to the conditions.

Speed restrictions are in place on the West Highland Line, the Highland Main Line and the Far North and Kyle Lines.

Some Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services on Scotland’s west coast have been disrupted due to the windy conditions.

The Met Office added that the strong winds are associated with an ‘active weather front moving south-eastwards across the UK’.

It said winds will ease from the north through the day.

In Northern Ireland, a yellow warning of wind is in place until midday on Thursday.

Forecasters said there could be gusts of between 40 and 50mph across much of Northern Ireland during the morning.

There could be a short period of time when gusts of 50-60mph hit many areas, along with heavy rain, however winds will start to ease from the west later in the morning.

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