The Met Office issued Amber and Yellow warnings over snow and ice as Storm Darcy, dubbed the 'Beast from the East' hit London with wintry showers and plunging temperatures.

On Sunday (February 7), the Met Office posted an Amber warning for areas of the South East coast including locations in South East London inside the M25, while the rest of London and much of Southern England fell under a Yellow warning.

Light snowfall was witnessed across London Sunday morning and the weather agency continued to warn of the wintry showers disrupting travel in the capital with snow and ice.

"Amber warning update #StormDarcy will continue to bring heavy snow and strong winds in East Anglia and southeast England Roads may be blocked, and power cuts are possible too.

"Valid until 1200 Monday," the Met Office Twitter account posted on Sunday morning. 

In a parallel statement published on their website, a spokesperson for the Met Office wrote regarding the Amber warning:

"Heavy snow is likely to bring widespread travel disruption

"What to expect:

  • Long delays and cancellations on bus, rail and air travel probably occurring
  • There is a good chance that roads may become blocked by deep snow, with many stranded vehicles and passengers likely
  • Long interruptions to power supplies and other services, such as gas, water, telephone and mobile phone coverage likely."

Meanwhile for the Yellow warning over snow:

"Heavy snow at times will bring some travel disruption.

"What to expect

  • Possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers
  • Possible delays or cancellations to rail and air travel
  • Some rural communities could become cut off
  • Power cuts may occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected."

The Amber and Yellow snow and ice warnings also extended into Monday (February 8) according to Met Office forecasts, with further wintry weather expected.