SNOWFALL EXPECTED THIS EVENING WITH ICY CONDITIONS TOMORROW WARNS FORECASTER

Parts of Central Wight and West Wight could see snowfall later this afternoon and into this evening (Wednesday) with small accumulations possible in rural villages such as Calbourne, Shorwell and Chillerton.

IW Met Service has issued a yellow weather warning for snow on top of its existing warning for ice – although there is still considerable uncertainty as to how much snow the Isle of Wight will actually see, if any.

It’s said that rain late this afternoon will slowly turn to sleet and possibly to snow in the western half of the Isle of Wight. This has prompted a fresh snow warning which is in force from 17:00 to 23:59 today.

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Whilst most locations that see snow falling are unlikely to see any accumulations, a few areas such as Tennyson Down across to Shalcombe, Newbridge, Calbourne, Brighstone, Shorwell and Chillerton may see small accumulations as the evening progresses, especially over high ground.

Jamie Russell, Chief Forecaster at IW Met Service, says:

“The situation is extremely borderline for snow, which means the tiniest change in temperature or even wind and the rain could become snow or the snow could become rain.

“We will be ‘nowcasting’ this afternoon which is using current and live data to predict the hours ahead rather than using model data as we do for the majority of our forecasts”.

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Overnight any slushy accumulations will freeze creating hazardous conditions for tomorrow morning’s commute to work and school. A yellow weather warning for ice is in force from 01:00 until 13:00 tomorrow.

Island Roads has confirmed that its fleet of gritters will be treating the Isle of Wight road network from 17:00, with a second run at 04:30 tomorrow morning.

​Islanders should be aware of extremely slippery driving conditions in some parts, particularly where roads haven’t been gritted or the grit has been washed away. Ice is possible on pavements too, especially in more rural parts of the Island.