How the cold weather has hit trains, planes, schools and snow

As Britain's big freeze continues for a fifth day, here's how the weather is affecting temperatures and travel conditions.

Tuesday 12 December 2017 14:13, UK

Motorists brave the snow in Worcester
Image: Motorists brave the snow in Worcester
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Britain has recorded its coldest night of the year so far, with temperatures plunging lower than Moscow and Oslo.

Here are some key facts on the current spell of freezing weather after it entered its fifth day.

:: Temperatures

Temperatures plummeted to -13C in Shawbury in Shropshire overnight.

Llysdinam in Powys, Wales, recorded -10.1C - and the village of Drumnadrochit on Loch Ness in Scotland fell to -9.1C.

It was the UK's coldest night since the night of 13/14 February 2016, when temperatures of -14.1C were registered in Braemar.

Snow-covered fields in Aghnahily, Co Laois.
Image: Snow-covered fields in Aghnahily, Co Laois.

:: Snow

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Forecasters have said 2cm to 5cm of snow is predicted to fall on higher ground in eastern Scotland and eastern England on Tuesday.

It comes after a thick blanket of snow covered large swathes of the country on Sunday, with 30cm recorded in Sennybridge, Wales, 18cm in Hereford and 17cm in High Wycombe.

Children play in the snow in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire
Image: Children play in the snow in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

:: Schools

Hundreds of schools remained closed for a second day on Tuesday.

Nearly 80 schools were listed as closed in Staffordshire, while more than 90 were shut in Herefordshire.

Gloucestershire, which saw around 200 schools closed on Monday, had 80 schools closed on Tuesday.

Pupils at 123 primary schools and 25 secondary schools in Shropshire are having a second day off, while more than 300 schools in Wales are reportedly shut on Tuesday.

All council-run schools in Birmingham were shut on Monday but the blanket closure was not in force for Tuesday.

Engineers have restored power to tens of thousands of homes
Image: Engineers have restored power to tens of thousands of homes

:: Power

Thousands of homes were left without power over the weekend but most have now been restored.

In the Midlands, South Wales and South West, Western Power Distribution engineers restored power to 99,500 homes.

Electricity supplier SSE restored power to 50,000 homes across Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire on Sunday.

A snow plough working to clear roads in Ironbridge in Shropshire
Image: A snow plough working to clear roads in Ironbridge in Shropshire

:: Roads

The AA said it had its busiest day of the year on "Black Ice Monday", with about 25,000 calls from motorists.

On Monday, the RAC had said it was expecting to attend 11,000 breakdowns on Monday after being called to 8,000 incidents on Sunday.

Green Flag said it received 13,800 calls by midday on Monday and had 49,800 calls over the previous three days.

BA cancelled dozens of flights
Image: BA cancelled dozens of flights

:: Flights

British Airways cancelled 170 flights on Sunday and more than 100 on Monday due to the disruption caused by the snow and ice.

At Heathrow, where dozens of flights were shelved on Monday, at least 16 departures have been listed as cancelled for Tuesday - with the airport advising passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.

Cancellations were also reported at Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh airports

A train through the snow near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire
Image: A train through the snow near Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire

:: Train journeys

A number of rail services reported delays on Tuesday morning including Arriva Trains Wales, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia and London Northwestern Railway.

CrossCountry trains were cancelled between Birmingham and Bristol on Sunday after a landslide caused by the severe weather.

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