Snow, hail and cold winds have arrived prompting Public Health England to urge people to take extra care.

The Met Office has today issued a Level 3 cold weather alert across Northwest England, including Wirral.

Everywhere else is now on a Level 2 alert, with London remaining on Level 1.

Steve Willington, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “The weather is turning colder across many parts of England for the next few days so it's important people stay up to date with the forecasts for information about the weather and what may happen in their area."

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Level 3 alerts are issued when average temperatures have dropped to 2C or below and/or widespread ice and heavy snow is present. Level 2 alerts are issued when there is a greater than 60% chance that we will see this weather within 48 hours.

Dr Angie Bone, head of Extreme Events at Public Health England, said: “Parts of England are really going to feel cold for the next few days so it’s really important people take extra care when out and about.

“Although most of our advice on keeping warm and well in cold weather may seem like common sense, it’s important to remember that cold kills, even in places where the temperatures aren’t at their lowest.”

Councillor Christine Jones, Wirral’s cabinet member for adult social care and public health, added: "Please take some time to think about how the bad weather may affect your friends and family, particularly if they are older or very young or have pre-existing health conditions.

"These groups can be particularly vulnerable to the ill-effects of cold and it’s important we all do what we can to protect those around us."

Liverpool Bay has been issued with a "be prepared" snow warning as Britain was warned of a week of snow and freezing temperatures with the North due to be worst hit.

"Thundersnow storms" striking, while snowfalls of up to 15cm are predicted.

There are fears the plummeting temperatures could endanger the health of the elderly and vulnerable and cause travel disruption as the snow showers are expected to hit.

The Met Office has issued an amber "be prepared" snow warning covering large swathes of Britain, from Liverpool Bay across to the Humber to the western side of the Welsh mountains.

More than a dozen rail services between Manchester and York have been cancelled, with First TransPennine Express saying it planned to run as many trains as possible and that the cancellations were a precaution.

A spokesman for Manchester Airport said the airport was still open but a "handful" of planes had been forced to circle before landing while one of their two landing runways was cleared of snow.

The operation began to de-ice and clear the snow and the airport's snow team were then switching to clear the other runway so that the "flow rate" of landings will be reduced, but it is not expected to cause any major disruption.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: "We have got snow falling in a number of areas in the North and West, including thunderstorms.

"There is thundersnow to the north of Manchester - these are normal thunderstorms but with snow rather than rain. The lightning on the white flakes is quite dramatic.

"The snowfall is going to continue throughout the night. In the amber area we could see more than 5cm of snow, and more than 15cm on higher ground.

"Quite a few places will be seeing heavy snow showers during the morning's rush hour. This is expected in the north west of England, on the M6 north of Cheshire and over Scotland.