Weather warning issued for parts of UK amid 'perfect recipe' for fog

Weather conditions in the UK are creating the "perfect recipe" for fog, the Met Office has said, as it issued a warning over travel conditions.

A yellow weather warning forecasting fog across large parts of the country is in place from 6pm on Sunday until 11am on Monday, with flight disruption possible.

The warning area, stretching from York to Bath and covering most of the South East and eastern England, will likely see the thickest fog, but low-lying cloud will still affect other areas.

The warning means travellers could face slower journey times, with delays to bus and train services possible, while there is also a chance of delays or cancellations to flights.

Niamh Murray, Met Office operational meteorologist, said: "There is still going to be patchy fog elsewhere, just not quite as dense or as impactful.

"Parts of the West Country could still see fog, Northern Ireland, really anywhere across much of the UK, even into the central belt of Scotland."

"With autumn and winter and getting fog during this time of year, we get much longer nights, and that allows temperatures to sort of fall away," Ms Murray said.

"We get a longer period of cooling and also the temperatures are much lower, so they're much closer to the temperature that we need for the air to become saturated and therefore form fog."

Ms Murray added: "We just have the perfect recipe at the moment: light winds, clear skies, long nights, to allow that fog to develop. And particularly if we see the negative numbers, it can quite stubborn to clear the next day."

The weather where you live

Fog may be particularly stubborn overnight into Monday in rural parts of the Midlands, Wales and East Anglia, where temperatures will drop close to freezing, with the potential for air frost.

Visibility could be down to 50m or less in some places, the Met Office warned, with delays to bus and train services possible and potential delays or cancellations to flights.

Sky meteorologist Kirsty McCabe said dense fog is likely to cause issues for many over the next couple of nights "until the winds pick up as low pressure moves up from the southwest, bringing milder and wetter weather".

She said: "Later next week we could well be talking about frost instead of fog with the winds set to swing round to a northerly direction."

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Ms McCabe added: "An area of high pressure sitting over the UK this week has effectively trapped all the mist and murk, making it harder for the fog to clear."

She said the situation hasn't been helped by smoke particles from bonfires and fireworks, which make mist and fog thicker and reduce visibility.

On Saturday, a stretch of the M20 was temporarily shut, and two people were seriously injured, after more than 30 vehicles were involved in a crash, amid "thick fog" in the area, according to National Highways.

Kent Police said the incident happened on the London-bound carriageway near Hollingbourne, Maidstone, at around 6.41pm.

During the foggy period, travellers are advised by the Met Office to check road conditions before leaving, as well as allowing extra time for the journey and changing plans if necessary.

The agency said drivers should also make sure they know how to switch on fog lights, and check they are working before setting off and check if plane, bus, train and ferry services are affected before leaving, if using them.

(c) Sky News 2026: Weather warning issued for parts of UK amid 'perfect recipe' for fog