A snow warning has been issued for Cumbria, with up to 20cm expected to fall on the highest ground as Storm Doris hits the UK

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning, valid from 2am Thursday until 6pm, ahead of the latest named storm's arrival.

Snow accumulations of 5cm to 10cm are expected on some hills, with up to 5cm possible on lower levels.

A spokesman for the forecaster continued: "The largest accumulations of 10cm to 20cm are likely on highest parts of the north Pennines and Southern Uplands.

"In addition, strong winds are expected to develop with gusts of 50mph to 60mph. This will result in drifting of the snow and blizzard conditions over high ground.

"Associated heavy rain at lower levels will be an additional hazard."

The combination of snow, strong winds and heavy rain could lead to disruption to transport networks and potentially power supplies.

A separate yellow warning for wind is in place for the southern parts of the county for the same day, from 6am until 6pm, although strong winds are expected to hit all of Cumbria.

Chief Meteorologist Steve Willington said: “We have named Storm Doris as we expect winds of up to 80mph, heavy rain and some snowfall to cause disruption across some central and northern parts of the UK on Thursday.

“Currently the most likely track of the low pressure system is across Northern Ireland and northern England and we expect to see the strongest winds in the north of Wales and central England.

"As well as heavy rain, as the low pressure system moves eastwards it will draw down cold air from the north which will cause some of this precipitation to fall as snow across parts of northern England and Scotland.

"It will be a very unsettled day of weather so make sure you keep up to date with your local forecast and any weather warnings for your area.”