Snow has accompanied the first weekend of spring.
After temperatures remained narrowly above freezing on Friday evening, people living near Bristol woke up to 4-5cm of snow on Saturday.
The Met Office had yellow warnings in place for parts of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Wiltshire early on Saturday morning.
That was partly to warn the emergency services that snow was predicted to fall at the junction of the M4 and M5, north of Bristol.
There was a “little more snow than expected”, Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said, as it ended up falling on parts of the wider South West and South Wales.
With cameras showing images of snow on the motorway network, the Highways Agency put out a warning, advising people to leave more time for their journeys.
The latest Sky News weather forecast
The flurries arrived in the coldest part of the night and low pressure gave it “more energy” than computer models had predicted, Mr Partridge added.
“It’s not unusual for this time of the year – we often do get some snow in March,” Mr Partridge said.
What’s the weather going to be where you are?
“It’s the old adage that it’s more likely to snow at Easter than it is at Christmas, and there is a bit of truth to that.”
Snowfall means the “unsettled weather is continuing”, Mr Partridge said, although drier weather is expected in the next few days.
Administrator Ian Archard, 55, posted a photo of his snowy garden in Mangotsfield, near Bristol, on social media.
“It’s still exciting to wake up and see snow in the morning,” he said. “Takes me back to childhood.”
Amanda Holland shared a picture of snow-covered trees in Tintern, Monmouthshire, with the caption: “Welcome to a snowy morning.”
Source Agencies
