Met Office yellow weather warning issued for York over fog

The yellow weather warning came into place after forecasters said the fog - which covers most areas south of Scarborough and east of Manchester in the North of England - could freeze in some places.

Temperatures dipped to near 0°C. (32F) overnight for many areas - a reason why the fog may have frozen on some roads.

Patches of fog are likely to disrupt transport with possible delays to bus and train services and flights.

Patchy #fog will form through this evening, with some dense and freezing patches of fog likely overnight, especially across parts of England and Wales 🌫️

If you're making a journey on #Tuesday morning, ensure you leave extra time for your journey and stay #WeatherAware 🚗⚠️ pic.twitter.com/et6lSqBqmM

— Met Office (@metoffice) January 17, 2022

The Met Office's yellow weather warning for fog covers York, Selby and Tadcaster - reaching up into parts of Ryedale and North Yorkshire. Roads to Leeds, Hull and Bradford are also covered by the weather alert.

Malton and Pickering are the main towns in Ryedale affected by the yellow weather warning.

Apart from fog, it is not likely to snow in York today while long bursts of sunshine are expected throughout the morning and into the afternoon. 

The yellow warning will end at 12pm on Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said motorists should allow extra time for their journeys.

He said: “The fog is going to be most widespread in southern, eastern England, into the Midlands and the east side of Wales too.

“Not everywhere within that warning will be foggy, but the main message to drivers is to allow some extra time for your journey because there could be fog around.

“It could have a knock-on effect on public transport, so there could be delays to bus journeys and train journeys.

“The fog will tend to clear as the morning goes on.

“It may linger on in a few spots, but towards lunchtime conditions should be much better.”

• Read more: Northern Lights display seen from York before fog

What causes fog? Why do we get it?

Mr Snell added that a combination of long winter nights, clear skies and still air can cause fog to settle.

“When the air is quite still, there’s nothing to move the fog around so that’s why it becomes dense,” he said.

“This time of year, our nights are long so we don’t have the heat from the sun, and the ground starts to radiate heat from the surface.

“This creates a long period of cooling.

“It’s a mixture of clear skies, light winds and long nights.”