Snow and Ice Hits UK
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Hundreds of schools are closed across the UK because of snow and ice – 384 in Wales, at least 320 in Scotland, around 200 in Northern Ireland, and more than 100 in England
It was the UK's coldest night of winter so far, with temperatures of minus 12.5C in Norfolk
There is also travel disruption, with National Rail saying services will be affected in England, Wales, and Scotland
We haven't seen snow like this for years, one man in Aberdeenshire tells us
The wintry weather is also hitting Europe, with around 400 flights cancelled at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport
Meanwhile, new snow and wind warnings are issued for Thursday and Friday, with Storm Goretti forecast to hit large parts of England and Wales
Edited by Ben Hatton and Caitlin Doherty, with reporting from BBC Weather and teams across the UK
Tonight's Scottish Premiership match between Livingston and St Mirren has been postponed because of the freezing weather.
The artificial pitch has frozen over at the stadium in West Lothian.
Rangers v Aberdeen is still scheduled to go ahead in Glasgow later at 20:00, but there will be pitch checks beforehand.
Four Scottish Championship matches planned for tonight have also been postponed.
They are:
On Saturday, seven SPFL fixtures were called off due to the cold weather.
Abigail Taylor
Live reporter
About 200 schools have now announced they are closed today in Northern Ireland as the cold snap continues to cause disruption to schools and transport.
A yellow weather warning for ice ended at 10:00 GMT, but a new one will come into force from 18:00 until 11:00 on Wednesday.
See the full list of affected schools in Northern Ireland.
A dog in the snow in Magherafelt, County Londonderry, on Tuesday morning
As we approach midday in the UK, here's how the wintry weather has affected the country so far:
Simon King
Presenter and meteorologist, BBC Weather
Storm Goretti was named by Meteo-France due to the most severe impact of strong winds being felt in northern France.
However, it will also bring strong winds and some significant snowfall to parts of England and Wales on Thursday night and Friday.
A Met Office yellow warning for wind has been issued for south-west England from Thursday 15:00 GMT to 23:59. Gusts of 50-60mph are likely with occasional gusts up to 70mph on exposed coasts.
Later on Thursday evening, as Storm Goretti passes along the English Channel, heavy rain will spread up from the south and as it meets the colder air we’ve had in place across the UK this week, it’ll turn to snow.
While there are still some uncertainties in the detail of the forecast being a few days away, the most likely situation is that a spell of heavy snow will initially develop over the hills of south Wales.
Rain will then turn to snow more widely over parts of England and Wales during Thursday night.
A Met Office yellow warning from 18:00 GMT on Thursday to 12:00 Friday suggests that in some areas, 5-10 cm of snow may settle with the potential for up to 20 cm in some locations, especially over higher ground.
Strong winds may lead to some drifting of snow before rain and snow will then clear eastwards during Friday.
The Met Office has also issued yellow warnings for large parts of England and Wales on Thursday and Friday.
The snow warning runs from 18:00 GMT on Thursday until midday on Friday. We'll have more details soon.
It says: "Storm Goretti likely to bring heavy snow leading to disruption and difficult travelling conditions."
The affected area on Thursday, according to the Met Office
The Met Office has issued new weather warnings for tomorrow covering most of the UK.
From midnight, a yellow ice warning will cover most of England, Scotland and Wales until 10:00 on Wednesday.
This follows a yellow ice warning for Northern Ireland, which is in place from 18:00 GMT tonight until 11:00 tomorrow.
In addition, a new yellow snow and ice warning covers much of northern Scotland from midnight tonight until 23:59 on Wednesday.
It's not just the UK that has been hit by snow, as these pictures from mainland Europe show:
Sledding is the order of the day in Budapest – Hungary's meteorological service says the capital has seen 7cm of snow
The seaside resort of La Rochelle in western France has seen a relatively rare smattering of snow
Snowmen have sprung up in Pamplona, northern Spain
At Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, departures boards show swathes of cancelled flights as heavy snowfall disrupts travel
A man clears snow with a digger near Gartly, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday morning
The Scottish Conservatives have called for the military to help clear snow and deliver supplies to homes that have been cut off.
Shadow Scottish Secretary Andrew Bowie describes the situation as "critical" and says the Scottish government should request Army assistance from the UK government.
Bowie says there is a real risk that people in the north and north east could be left without basic necessities unless urgent action is taken.
Over the past few days, Scotland has seen temperatures dip to -11.2C with large dumps of snow across the north. Tomintoul in the Cairngorms reported about 19.6in (50cm) of snow on Sunday.
The Scottish government has been contacted for a response.
Helmsdale in the Highlands saw another dumping of snow overnight
ScotRail has warned that trains across the north of Scotland will be disrupted for the rest of the day.
Services on the Inverness to Wick line are gradually returning, but trains on the Inverness to Kyle and Inverness to Aberdeen lines are not expected to resume until this afternoon.
LNER has advised anyone travelling between Edinburgh and Aberdeen not to attempt to travel until 14:00. Both LNER, external and ScotRail, external say they will accept tickets from the period of disruption on future dates.
And in the central belt, the Glasgow Subway has not been able to open this morning due to ice on the line causing a power failure.
Mid Yell in the Shetland Islands this morning
Let's return now to school closures, which have hit all parts of the UK.
We earlier said that more than 150 schools were closed in Aberdeenshire alone. We can now report than more than 320 schools have closed across Scotland.
They were supposed to reopen on Monday after Christmas, however hazardous conditions have prevented safe travel for staff and pupils.
Aberdeenshire, Orkney and Shetland councils said all schools would remain closed today, while most in Aberdeen and Moray are also shut.
While the Highlands have also been impacted by snow and ice, their schools aren't due to return until Wednesday – after the weather warnings expire.
Darren Bett
BBC Weather presenter
Last night was a bitterly cold night. The lowest temperature last night was at Marham in Norfolk. Here the temperature fell to minus 12.5C (9.5F) – the coldest night in Marham since January 2013.
Last night was not only the coldest night of the winter in England, it was also the coldest night of the winter in the UK.
There were at least nine weather stations that fell to minus 10C last night.
Ken Banks
BBC Scotland North East and Northern Isles reporter
Tuesday has brought another amber snow warning from the Met Office, just when it seemed like there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.
I again trudged through deep snow to get to work this morning in Aberdeen – it does not feel worth the risk being on the roads, if the car could even be dug out, that is.
The roads are quiet, with schools closed for a second day after the Christmas break.
Some people were armed with shovels, clearing the snow, and a digger was also clearing a road.
It feels like the worst it has been in possibly the past 15 years. In the November and December of 2010, the area endured many consecutive days of deep snow, which again closed schools and caused major travel problems.
Snowfall in Staffordshire has seen more than 85 schools closed today
As we've been reporting, snow and freezing temperatures have led to school closures across the UK this morning.
In England, more than 20 schools in Norfolk have been affected, with a further five in Suffolk, external also closed.
Staffordshire County Council, external is also reporting more than 85 school closures. And, in North Yorkshire, external, 45 schools are shut today.
Two are shut in Essex, external due to heating problems, and a school in Oxfordshire, external is also closed, due to a failed boiler.
As a reminder, more than 380 schools are closed in Wales, another 186 shut in Northern Ireland, and more than 150 in Aberdeenshire alone. We'll continue to keep you updated with any further developments.
Alex Emery
UGC Hub
Seven-year-old Archie nestles into the snow on top of his parents’ car in Portlethen in Aberdeenshire.
His father Stuart says they haven’t seen snow like this for years.
"All schools are closed again today with an update expected late this afternoon. There's been more snow this morning so we're not expecting the schools to reopen," Stuart tells the BBC.
“We’re doing OK. We've walked rather than driven to the supermarket to get supplies – it was very quiet and eerie in there."
He says his family are happy enough to be working from home, and are taking the chance to enjoy the snow with Archie when they get the chance.
Darren Bett
BBC Weather presenter
Met Office yellow snow and ice warnings cover much of the UK this morning, but a more severe amber snow warning has been issued for parts of Scotland.
The warning runs from 11:00 to 19:00 GMT today when further heavy snowfall of 5-15cm (2-6inches) is expected.
The warning states that:
Abigail Taylor
Live reporter
Over 180 schools are closed mainly in the north-east and north-west of Northern Ireland, following a weekend of wintry weather which closed 200 schools on Monday.
Brian Guthrie, the principal of Ebrington Primary School in Londonderry, had hoped to reopen today but conditions did not allow it.
"I spent a good bit of time on site yesterday, maybe three or four hours, clearing pathways and so on to make it safe but, unfortunately, as the day went on it seemed more and more schools were making a call to close," he says.
A yellow warning for ice is in place in Northern Ireland until 10:00 GMT.
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Snowfall at Amsterdam Schiphol airport, pictured yesterday, continues to cause delays and cancellations to flights
Amsterdam Schiphol airport is reporting disruption to flights this morning "due to persistent winter weather".
In a statement on its site, it warns that "only limited air traffic is possible to and from Schiphol" as snow crews work "around the clock" to keep runways clear and aircraft de-iced.
As a result, local media sources are reporting at least 400 flights cancelled at Schiphol and long lines at information desks this morning. We'll have an updated number soon.
The snowy conditions have also impacted Eurostar journeys between London and Amsterdam; the first train out of St Pancras station was cancelled, while the second will only travel as far as Brussels.
In Wales, 384 schools are closed, with another 186 shut in Northern Ireland.
We don't have a final number for Scotland, but there are more than 150 closed in Aberdeenshire alone, according to the council's website.
We're also looking into closures in England. We'll bring you more numbers when we have them.
Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter
With hundreds of schools across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales closed because of ice and snow, we're restarting our live coverage of the wintry weather.
The Met Office has six weather warnings in place; we'll catch you up with exactly what they mean in our next few posts.
The cold snap of Arctic air has caused widespread sub-zero temperatures in recent days in the UK. And in mainland Europe, Amsterdam's Schiphol airport is warning of limited flights, with more than 300 cancelled, while Eurostar is also cancelling services between London and Amsterdam.
We'll bring you updates on the rails and roads this morning, and we'll share some of your pictures along the way too.
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