Cheltenham Festival has been hit by surprise snow as day two of the famous racing event gets underway.
The Met Office said race-goers could expect “wet snow” in between showers, with sleet forecast in the area until at least 10am.
Gloucestershire Highways was among those warning race-goers to take care when travelling to the event, writing: “We appear to have some snow this morning! If you’re heading out please be careful and if you’re off to Cheltenham Festival wrap up warm.”
A Met Office spokesperson said: “Don’t be surprised if you see some wet snow in some of the showers today. A temporary slight covering is possible on the grass and cars, as seen recently here in Cheltenham.”
The snow is forecast to clear up by midday, with pictures showing jockeys warming up on the gallops amid the sleet.
However, race organisers did not appear to be worried about the wintry conditions – with one official playing ‘Snow is Falling’ on the racecourse tannoy.
Merry Cheltenham. They just gave ‘Snow is Falling’ a blast on the public address system. Someone’s got a sense of humour. pic.twitter.com/hgltB0m04M
— Richard Forristal (@R_Forristal) March 12, 2025
One local said of the weather on social media: “I live in Prestbury Cheltenham, just a few minutes away from the racecourse, and it’s only bloomin snowing!
“They will need to get the equestrian equivalent of snow tyres on the horses.”
The annual four-day festival will take place until Friday and features several Grade I races including the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and the Champion Hurdle.
The Met Office earlier warned of a drop in temperatures after the weekend’s unseasonably warm weather, with London expected to see temperatures of -2C overnight on Thursday.
Craig Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Conditions will stay in single figures and it’ll be a cold midweek, particularly when compared with this weekend.
“It won’t be a washout and there will be plenty of dry spells. But it’ll be the breeze that keeps those temperatures down.”
Friday into Saturday will be more of the same until temperatures start to rise again slightly moving into the weekend, with the capital due to see highs of 9C.
