DRIVING WARNING: Advice issued as gales and snow forecast

• Think about the safest possible way to get to your destination. If you can, avoid travelling on quieter roads or country lanes as these are less likely to be gritted.

• Don’t forget to clear off snow piled on the roof and bonnet as it can fall and blow on to the windscreen or the vehicle behind.

• Start your car gently from stationary and avoid high revs. If road conditions are icy and you drive a manual car, move off in a higher gear rather than first gear. Stay in a higher gear to avoid wheel spin.

• Never drive too fast that you risk losing control, but avoid driving so slowly that you risk losing momentum, especially when driving up a slope.

• Double your stopping distance from the vehicle in front of you. This will give you more time to slow down without relying on your brakes.

* The Met Office updated forecast for the next 24 hours for Yorkshire and the Humber is as follows:m A major (but temporary) change of weather type will see the winds swing into a more northerly direction into this weekend, pulling down much colder air across the whole of the UK and western Europe, after what has been an exceptionally mild first half of November. Wintry showers will spread to many areas and night frosts will become much more widespread.

Within this northerly flow, a more organised area of wintry weather and strong to gale force winds is expected to develop near northern Scotland this afternoon, before transferring southwards overnight. The influence of the warm North Sea should limit the amounts of snow falling close to the coasts, while the preceding mild conditions will tend to reduce the amounts accumulating on tarmac surfaces.