COMING off the warmest February on record, the West Yorkshire area has been hit by snow this afternoon.

One recent traffic alert reported that there was “slow traffic due to snow on the M62 both ways from Junction 24 (Ainley Top) to Junction 22 (Rishworth Moor)”.

The news comes as the Met Office has predicted snow for West Yorkshire, including Bradford, on the hills and high ground.

The Met Office forecast for Yorkshire and the Humber today said it would be a cold and frosty start with patches of mist and fog clearing as a band of strong winds, rain, and hill snow arrives by the afternoon.

Snow is likely to be confined to high ground, with some sharp showers following behind. The Maximum temperature will be 6C.

For tonight, The Met Office reports that isolated showers will linger and it is likely to be wintry over western hills. It will be cloudy throughout with light winds and frosty conditions developing by dawn. It is due to drop below zero tonight.

Tomorrow will bring another cold and frosty morning with further rain and hill snow arriving in the morning, slowly clearing into the evening. There will be light winds and a maximum temperature of 6C.

The outlook for Sunday to Tuesday will be cold with some fog patches on Sunday and Monday. It will remain generally dry on Sunday with winds and rain arriving Monday evening.

There'll be frost and fog on Tuesday, with showers and light winds.

The cold start to March comes on the back of news that England had its warmest February on record, according to provisional Met Office statistics.

The average temperature in England for February 2024 was 7.5C, topping the previous record of 7C set in 1990.

The UK experienced its second warmest February, averaging 6.3C, but not surpassing February 1998’s figure of 6.8C. 

While temperatures were above average throughout the UK, it was a particularly warm month across the southern half of the country, with mean temperatures more than 3C above the February long-term average for many counties in southern England.

Over 30 counties recorded their highest February mean temperature, chiefly in southern areas of the UK, though many areas further north were also warmer than average.

Met Office Senior Scientist Mike Kendon said: “February has perhaps been the quietest month of the winter, without any further named storms, whereas Gerrit in December and Henk and Isha in January all caused significant weather impacts.

“Despite a cold spell in in the north in the first half of the month, the main theme of February is how persistently mild and wet it has been, particularly in the south and this is largely due to the influence of Atlantic low-pressure systems bringing a predominant mild, south-westerly flow. This mild, wet theme is also true of winter overall.”