Hundreds of schools shut as UK freeze sees temperatures plunge to -11°C
Parts of the UK were subjected to below-freezing temperatures overnight, forcing schools across Scotland to shut as the Met Office forecast incoming “blizzard conditions”.
Temperatures dropped to as low as -11°C in England and -10°C, in Scotland overnight on Wednesday, with snow and ice warnings in place.
All schools in Shetland and Orkney, 130 schools in Aberdeenshire and nine schools and nurseries in Moray remained shut on Thursday, while others staggered their opening times.
An amber warning for snow across northern Scotland, Orkney and the Shetland Islands is in place until 6pm on Thursday, with the potential of up to 20cm more snowfall.
Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said that “strengthening northwesterly winds” will cause “some lying snow to drift, potentially bringing some additional hazards, such as temporary blizzard conditions.”
Other parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland have a yellow snow and ice warning spanning the whole of Thursday, while the north and northwest of England are likely to see further wintry outbreaks over the next 24 hours.
Separate, shorter snow and ice warnings are in place for Wales and south-west England, until 11am on Thursday, and in eastern England until midday on Thursday, as both areas could see wintry showers that lead to icy patches.
A final yellow ice warning for south-east England, including Kent, Surrey and East Sussex, will run until 10am on Thursday.
“With deep snow already lying on the ground for many in the northern half of the UK,” Mr Kelly said. “We’re going to see a significant topping up of totals over the next couple of days, especially for those in the north of Scotland.
“Within the amber warning area, an additional 15-20cm of snow is possible in a few locations.”
It comes after the UK had its coldest night of the winter so far on Tuesday into Wednesday when Dalwhinnie in the Scottish Highlands experienced a temperature of minus -14°C.
Travel warnings are also in place across Scotland and National Rail warned the wintry weather could affect train journeys on Thursday before Great Northern, Thameslink, ScotRail and South Western Railway were all impacted by delays on Thursday.
In Northern Ireland, people have been urged not to travel unless it is “absolutely essential” because of limited gritting of the roads in zero-degree temperatures as public sector workers walk out in the biggest strike in the region’s recent history.
Minister for Transport for Scotland Fiona Hyslop stressed the importance of “planning ahead” and issued a warning of high-risk disruption for the parts of the country covered by the amber warning.
Ms Hyslop said winter resilience plans have been in full effect with teams across Scotland working overnight to grit the trunk road network for essential journeys, but that local roads may be impacted.
Another frosty night is forecast into Friday, and while it will be breezier with more cloud in places, lows of minus 10C will again be likely in some areas.
Wind coming in from the Atlantic in the west will then take charge through Friday and into Saturday, bringing much milder, wet, and windy weather for the weekend.
