Snow and freezing temperatures as UK is gripped by Arctic blast

Snow has blanketed northern parts of the UK as cold Arctic air brought freezing temperatures.

More than 100 schools were closed in Scotland on Tuesday, while drivers faced difficult conditions due to the wintry weather across north-west England, including in Merseyside, Cheshire and Cumbria.

Outbreaks of sleet and snow are forecast to become more persistent through the day.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place across Scotland, much of northern England and parts of North Wales until midnight.

Warnings continue across large swathes of the northern half of the country until Thursday.

A “cold plunge of Arctic air” has moved south across the whole country over the past few days, making it 5C to 6C lower than usual for this time of year, the Met Office said.

Forecasters predict temperatures could plunge as low as minus 15C in places on Tuesday night.

The Government has confirmed thousands of households in England and Wales are eligible for cold weather payments.

They are made to vulnerable people, including pensioners, to help them pay for heating when the temperature dips below freezing.

The payments go to those living in an area where the average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below over seven consecutive days.

Payments will be made to homes across Cumbria, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Staffordshire and Powys in Wales.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued a cold-health alert, which warns of possible impacts for the health and social care sector, while National Highways has put in place a severe weather alert for snow affecting north-west England on Tuesday, with road users advised to plan ahead and some rural communities warned they could be temporarily cut off.

Amy Fellows, national network manager at National Highways, said: “Freezing conditions bring so many hazards such as snow and ice, so take every possible step to understand your journey in advance and allow lots of extra time when travelling to prepare for the unexpected.”

National Rail has warned the wintry weather could affect train journeys all week, with ScotRail saying services on the Highland Mainline route on Tuesday would be delayed by around 30 minutes.

Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said: “There will be widespread frost this week and we could see some fairly deep laying snow in parts of northern UK and strong winds could result in drifting or blizzard conditions at times.

“The snow and ice will be disruptive and could potentially impact travel plans, make driving dangerous and pavements slippery.”

Forecasters say there is the potential for “some snow” in southern England mid-week as a low-pressure system moves across northern France.

The track of this system... has the potential to bring some snow to southern England

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Nick Silkstone said: “The track of this system still has some small but all-important uncertainties tied to its northern extent, and it has the potential to bring some snow to southern England.

“However, our preferred solution suggests minimal snowfall (a couple of cm at most) across parts of the extreme south of England in association with this system, but we are keeping an eye on how things develop and will update the forecast as needed.”