Amber Cold Health Alert
Cold health alert updated for the South West
The amber cold health alert is in effect from 8PM on 02/01/2026 until 10AM on 09/01/2026 across the South West. The amber alert has a matrix score of 12. See below the following snow and ice advice for what this means.
They advise:
Snow and ice has the potential to cause disruption to travel in places from Sunday evening through to Monday morning.
What to expect
What to expect
* Some roads and railways likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services
* Some injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces
* Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths
Snow showers are expected to push further inland across Wales, parts of northwest England, the West Midlands and southwest England during Sunday evening. Along windward coasts, rain and sleet is more likely, but inland showers will fall as snow. Whilst not all locations in the warning areas will see snow, around 1-3 cm is expected to fall in many places by Monday morning, with the potential for 5-8 cm to build up in a few locations, particularly across inland and higher parts of Wales. Icy patches are likely to form widely.What Should I Do?
What Should be done?
Do refer to the DS Special on wintry weather distributed to you in the Autumn and see the following from the Met Office:
Snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous. Keep yourself and others safe by planning your route, giving yourself extra time for your journey. Check for road closures or delays to public transport and amend plans if necessary.
Keep yourself and your family safe when it is icy. Plan to leave the house at least five minutes earlier than normal. Not needing to rush, reduces your risk of accidents, slips, and falls.
If you need to make a journey on foot, try to use pavements along main roads which are likely to be less slippery. Similarly, if cycling, try and stick to main roads which are more likely to have been treated.
Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.
If driving, make sure you have some essentials in your car in the event of any delays (e.g., warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).
Be prepared for weather warnings to change: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.
If you need to make a journey on foot, try to use pavements along main roads which are likely to be less slippery. Similarly, if cycling, try and stick to main roads which are more likely to have been treated.
Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.
If driving, make sure you have some essentials in your car in the event of any delays (e.g., warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).
Be prepared for weather warnings to change: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.
Health Security Agency
Forecast weather is likely to cause significant impacts across health and social care services, including:
- a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. We may also see impacts on younger age groups
- a likely increase in demand for health services
- temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks
- challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
- staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
- other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)
How to take action if you have a duty to respond
Please review the Weather Health Alert System user guidance to explain how you can use the information contained within the alerts to respond to the forecast weather.
We provide guidance on how to take action for a range of professional groups with a duty to respond, with action cards available for commissioners, health and social care providers, and the voluntary and community sector. Summary action cards are also available below:
- commissioners
- voluntary and community sector
- care homes and other residential settings
- services delivering care to people in their homes
Planning for adverse weather
Don’t forget to refer to and share our annual guidance, we issued it late Nov, early Dec 25. If you can’t find your copy, do ask by contacting us online