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Wales has been warned to expect three days of snow as forecasters describe it as the "coldest spell of winter".

Two yellow severe weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued for parts of Wales on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Monday and Tuesday

The first warning runs from 8pm on Monday until 3pm on Tuesday.

It applies to all areas of Wales expect for a small part of south Wales which includes places such as Caldicot and Barry.

According to the Met Office, a spell of rain will quickly turn to sleet and snow and move southeast across the UK on Monday night and Tuesday, gradually weakening across England and Wales.

Some roads and railways may be affected with longer journey times for on the roads and railways.

The chief forecaster for the Met Office said: “Snow is likely to be confined to hills above 100 metres over Northern Ireland, but to low levels elsewhere.

“Away from coasts, 1-3 cm of snow is possible with up to 5 cm above 200 metres. As skies clear from the west early on Tuesday morning, ice is likely to develop across western Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“This warning has been updated to extend the southern boundary further south across parts of Wales for snow, and further north over Orkney to cater for the ice risk following clearance of rain or sleet here on Monday morning. The start time has also been brought forward to 8pm.”

According to Welsh weather expert Liam Dutton this is likely to be "the coldest spell of winter".

Tuesday and Wednesday

A separate warning for snow and ice has been issued from 5am on Tuesday until 9am on Wednesday. This does not affect Cardiff and the border areas but does cover all areas west of Bridgend.

According to the chief forecaster for the Met Office: “Following a band of rain, sleet and snow, clearing south eastwards, rain, sleet and snow showers are likely to increasingly affect western parts of the UK.

“Snow showers are likely to be frequent in western Scotland and northern Northern Ireland, where hail and thunder are also possible. These will gradually fade overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, with icy stretches developing as skies clear, particularly where early snow has melted and then refrozen overnight. Around 5cm of snow is likely at low levels, with some places above 200 m seeing 7-10 cm.

“As is usually the case with showers, not everywhere within the warning area will see them, and along immediate coastal fringes exposed to the northwest, they may fall predominantly as rain.”

What is a weather warning?

Weather warnings are issued by meteorologists at the Met Office to warn people of weather that could impact on their day to day life.

Other than ice they can be issued for fog, rain, wind and snow.

Yellow is the least dangerous colour for a warning. It means that you should plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day to day activities.

The Met Office monitors the developing weather situation and yellow means keep an eye on the latest forecast and be aware that the weather may change or worsen, leading to disruption of your plans in the next few days.