Freezing rain could lead to treacherous conditions across the UK over the weekend, the Met Office warned. The Met Office has warned of snow and ice, with the risk of rare freezing rain, across most of England and Wales over the weekend. The phenomenon - commonly known as ice storms in North America - is not often seen in the UK because the conditions needed for it are quite specific, according to the forecaster.
![[Snow, ice, heavy rain and sleet will sweep over the island of Ireland as temperatures continue to plummet (Brian Lawless/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/04/12/579e28dd069706f66bbf84967cd04c68Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2MDc3Njcz-2.78606668.jpg)
Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said freezing rain could lead to “treacherous conditions” across the country amid warnings of stranded vehicles on the roads and delayed or cancelled rail and air travel. Follow weather updates here. But what is freezing rain, how is it different to snow and why is it so dangerous? The Independent takes a look below.
![[Freezing rain covers a car]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/04/17/2021-02-13_12_31_48_Icicles_on_a_car_mirror_due_to_sleet_and_freezing_rain_along_Tranquility_Court_i.jpg.jpg)
Freezing rain is rainfall that has become “supercooled” as it falls from the sky, travelling through various temperatures in the atmosphere. It starts as snow, ice, sleet or hail high up in the atmosphere, but as it travels down it melts through a layer of warmer air, then refreezes again through a layer of colder air near the surface.
It can produce striking effects, as the rain drop spreads out momentarily across the surface before it freezes, encasing the surface in a layer of clear ice. The weight of the ice can sometimes be heavy enough to bring down trees and power lines, and the glaze of ice on the ground effectively turns roads and pathways into an ice rink, according to the Met Office.
