The Met Office has put yellow weather warnings over snow and ice in place from this afternoon covering much of the UK.
The Met had a number of yellow warnings in place on Thursday across the country, but most were initially set to expire by 11am, with only a snow and ice alert in Scotland remaining until midnight.
But it has now updated its map to show yellow ice warnings for much of the Midlands, North West England, Eastern England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 4pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday, while the snow and ice warning for Scotland has been extended to 10am on Friday.
Met office weather warnings for Thursday Pic: Met Office
A separate yellow warning for ice is in force from 3am on Friday until 11am, covering South West England and parts of South Wales.
It comes as large swathes of the country deal with disruption caused by the freezing weather, with temperatures expected to fall as low as -16C on Thursday night both in the northeast of England and Scotland, the Met Office has said.
Manchester Airport has warned passengers of delays after temporarily closing its runways due to “significant levels of snow”.
In a statement on Thursday morning, the airport said: “Our runways are temporarily closed due to significant levels of snow, as our teams work hard to clear them as quickly as possible.”
The airport announced its runways had reopened at 10am, but warned “as a result of the earlier closure, some departures and arrivals may still experience delays”.
“The safety of our passengers remains our top priority. Thank you for your understanding and patience,” it added.
Commuters wait for a tram on a snow-covered platform in Manchester. Pic: Reuters
Snow covers a vehicle in Buxton. Pic: Reuters
The A30 in Cornwall was closed westbound between the A3047 junctions Avers and Tolvaddon on Thursday morning following a multiple vehicle collision, according to National Highways, after an amber warning for snow and ice was in place yesterday.
It said at 8.45am that emergency services were at the scene while traffic built on the roads.
Devon and Cornwall Police and Devon County Council Highways had earlier warned of roads closing and motorists being stationary for “long periods of time” in a joint statement.
Snow ploughs became stuck in queues of traffic caused by “minor incidents”, the statement added.
All of the warnings in place across the country are yellow, meaning there is a danger of injury from slips and falls and some disruption to travel expected.
A yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for the following regions from 4pm on Thursday to 10am on Friday:
- East Midlands
- North West England
- Northern Ireland
- Wales
- West Midlands
Get the forecast for your area
Icicles hang from the Killhope Lead Mine in Durham. Pic: PA
Other yellow warnings which covered much of the country on Thursday morning have now expired.
They included a warning for snow and ice affecting Cornwall, much of Wales and parts of northwest England until 11am, an ice warning for parts of southern England and south-east Wales until 10.30am and a fog warning for Northern Ireland until 9am.
Menston, West Yorkshire
Snow covers the Killhope Lead Mine in Durham. Pic: PA
Travel disruption to road and rail services are likely on Thursday in the warning areas, as well as the potential for accidents in icy places, the forecaster said.
As icy conditions persist, motorists are being urged to stick to major roads that are most likely to have been gritted.
Car insurer RAC said it has seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.