Heavy snow has brought treacherous conditions with drivers left stranded for hours and people urged to only travel if absolutely necessary.
Storm Larisa battered parts of the UK with gales and blizzards overnight, and the Met Office still has a number of warnings in place for snow and ice, including an amber warning covering northern England and the Midlands until midday.
Four yellow warnings for snow also cover much of the rest of the nation, with the exception of south-east England and western Scotland.
Heavy snow has caused hundreds of school closures across the UK.
A low of -13.6C was recorded in Altnaharra in Sutherland in the Highland region of northern Scotland overnight.
The Met Office said the greatest depth of snow recorded was 27cm at Capel Curig in North Wales.
There was also an official record of 14cm at Bingley in West Yorkshire but a Met Office spokesman said that anecdotally they have heard of observations higher than this in Leeds and Sheffield.
Heavy snowfall left drivers stranded for more than seven hours on the M62 motorway in Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.
National Highways North-West estimated at one point congestion on the eastbound carriageway between Rochdale and Saddleworth stretched to around eight miles.
Derbyshire Constabulary urged drivers not to travel in the Peak District on Friday morning “unless absolutely necessary” as most roads in the High Peak and Derbyshire Dales areas were “impassable”.
The force said it is working with mountain rescue teams to respond to reports of stranded vehicles.
Drivers are urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary in the #PeakDistrict this morning due to significant snowfall overnight. Many roads in the #HighPeak and #DerbyshireDales are impassable. Other #Derbyshire roads may also be affected. More here: https://t.co/R63920093p pic.twitter.com/BEefoXc9Vl
— Derbyshire Police (@DerbysPolice) March 10, 2023
The Police Service of Northern Ireland also warned people to only travel if their journey is essential.
Parts of the A66 in Durham and the A628 Woodhead Pass in South Yorkshire were closed overnight due to the heavy snow.
Public transport has also been affected, with Network Rail saying multiple fallen trees have blocked lines between Manchester and Sheffield, meaning no trains can run.
Train operators TransPennine Express and Northern are also among those impacted with many services cancelled.
Merseyrail, which runs train services in Merseyside and the surrounding areas, said its operations would not start until around 10am on Friday due to severe weather.
Air travel is affected too, with the majority of flights departing Liverpool John Lennon Airport delayed on Friday morning.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said that a pocket of western Scotland covering Glasgow and the county of Argyll may be the only region untouched by heavy rain and snow.
He said the worst of the weather was expected in north-west Wales and northern England, adding: “The combination of heavy snow and gales is why we’re likely to see blizzards and drifting snow which causes extra hazards on the roads.
“In places covered by amber warnings, there will be very difficult, treacherous conditions.
“Ideally, avoid travelling in those periods – but if you have to head out then be aware that journeys could take significantly longer.”
Mr Burkill said that areas of the Highlands could see minus 17C, after this year’s record low of minus 16C was recorded at Altnaharra in the region.
People in the south of England are likely to experience the worst of the rain.
The weather is expected to clear by the end of Friday, before then being replaced by another low pressure system, leading to a further yellow snow and ice warning for much of northern England and Scotland from 3pm on Saturday to 6am on Sunday.
