A SEVERE weather warning is in place for Derbyshire today – as temperatures barely rise above freezing.
The alert covers the whole of the East Midlands for part of the morning and urges drivers and pedestrians to be on guard for ice on the roads, following snow flurries across the county yesterday.
Forecasters said between 1cm and 3cm of snow could also fall in some places today – but said any showers would become more isolated and lighter during the day.
A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: "Where there is snow – or where the showers have created wet roads – there is the potential for ice.
"Derbyshire will see some respite from the snow as the wind direction changes.
"However, that ice warning will create possibly difficult conditions early on."
The snow flurries, dubbed the "Siberian spring" because of the cold winds coming in from the East, are the result of freezing temperatures across the country.
Derby's own amateur weather man, Philip Singleton, said: "It has been far colder than you would expect for this time of year.
"Yesterday, temperatures reached just before freezing – which is way below the average of nine for this month.
"The wind is going to change direction from today, bringing wet weather for next week.
"But then it is still going to be cold."
But Philip would not be drawn on whether we would be seeing a white Easter, as it was too far in the future to predict.
He said: "It is not unheard of to get snow at Easter and it is early this year as well.
"But it is just too early to say at the moment, as you can only predict about 10 days in the future.
"However, if I were a betting man, I would say you would be unlikely to see snow on the ground – but you may see it in the air."
But the cold snap has seen bookies slashing their odds on snow over the holidays, which would be the first since 2008 – with odds of 4/1 against.
Snow fell across the county yesterday but it settled more on higher ground than elsewhere.
Among routes disrupted by the weather was the A38, with drivers reporting icy conditions and some minor shunts – but public transport was running well, with no reports of delays on buses or trains.
