Heavy snow and high winds to create treacherous conditions

Heavy snowfall is acceptable to autumn overnight successful parts of the UK, with warnings of treacherous conditions and motorists told to debar question unless necessary.

Strong winds are besides forecast, meaning imaginable blizzards and snowfall drifts.

Hundreds of schools crossed Wales, the West Midlands and bluish England were closed connected Thursday owed to the weather.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said connected Thursday evening: "In places covered by amber warnings, determination volition beryllium precise difficult, treacherous conditions.

"Ideally, debar travelling successful those periods - but if you person to caput retired past beryllium alert that journeys could instrumentality importantly longer."

There are yellowish upwind warnings for snowfall and crystal covering ample parts of the remainder of the country.

BBC upwind forecaster Billy Payne said the astir disruptive snowfall volition beryllium crossed North Wales, the Peak District, the Pennines and the eastbound broadside of Northern Ireland done the remainder of Thursday, overnight and into Friday morning.

But helium said much sleet and snowfall could deed astatine the weekend.

Snowfalls of 18cm had already been recorded astatine Lake Vyrnwy successful North Wales, helium said, with 5cm connected little crushed successful Nottingham.

Blizzard-like conditions could hap aboriginal arsenic eastbound to north-easterly winds come, causing snowfall drifts, peculiarly implicit precocious ground.

"This could of people marque question much hard with snowfall piling up much successful immoderate areas," helium said.

He said milder aerial is forecast for Sunday into Monday and a thaw volition begin.

Amber upwind warnings are issued erstwhile determination is much accidental of terrible upwind perchance causing disruption to mundane life, according to the Met Office's website.

They are utilized to pass of question delays connected the roads and railways, arsenic good arsenic powerfulness cuts.

People travelling connected Thursday evening were warned to expect delays connected some obstruction and road, with Travel South Yorkshire saying nationalist transport was "severely disrupted crossed the region".

Merseyrail said the archetypal trains connected Friday volition beryllium cancelled owed to the upwind conditions.

National Highways said it had closed the A66 betwixt Bowes successful County Durham and Brough successful Cumbria successful some directions, portion the A628 Woodhead Pass successful Derbyshire was closed successful some directions for astir 14 miles betwixt Flouch, South Yorkshire, and Hollingworth, Greater Manchester.

Derbyshire County Council added it had closed six roads, with galore insignificant roads besides impassable.

National Highways successful England issued a terrible upwind alert for snowfall successful the North West, North East and Midlands until 08:00 GMT connected Friday.

The wintry conditions person caused astatine slightest 270 schools to unopen successful Wales truthful far, affecting pupils successful Denbigh, Flintshire, Powys, Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen.

And successful the West Midlands astatine slightest 250 schools closed, with hundreds much elsewhere shutting aboriginal connected Thursday arsenic the amber warnings came into force.

Flights were paused astatine Birmingham airdrome earlier arsenic workers cleared snowfall and crystal from the runway and East Midlands Airport was besides forced to temporarily unopen its runway.

Passengers are being advised to cheque with their airlines for the astir up-to-date formation information.

The RAC said determination had been 50% much breakdowns than accustomed successful the worst affected areas - with immoderate drivers stuck successful the snowfall successful parts of South Yorkshire and Wales.

Spokesman Rod Dennis said earlier connected Thursday: "Rural routes done cardinal and bluish England covered by the Met Office's amber upwind informing are starting to get hard to negotiate, and these are areas drivers should debar if they can.

"Given the weather, we urge reasoning cautiously earlier mounting retired contiguous as, with much snowfall forecast, things are apt to get worse connected the roads earlier they get better."