The second named storm of the season is forecast to bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend.
Storm Bert has been named by the Met Office, with wind gusts of up to 70mph expected in some areas.
Heavy snowfall could bring further disruption to parts of the country while heavy rain is also likely, especially in western parts.
The Met Office is forecasting heavy rain and gusts of nearly 50mph for London this weekend. In sharp contrast to this week’s deep freeze, temperatures are expected to shoot up to 15C.
An amber alert for heavy snow and ice will be in force between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in an area north of Scotland’s central belt, where 10-20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres and potentially as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400 metres.
The warning covers parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire and some of the Highlands and Argyll and Bute.
Forecasters said power cuts and travel disruption are likely and there is a good chance some rural communities could become cut off.
It comes as snow and ice were causing chaos across Britain on Thursday.
A yellow warning of snow and ice for much of Scotland, northern England and parts of western and eastern England and Wales is in force between midday on Thursday and 10am on Friday.
The wintry weather has affected education with more than 114 schools shut in the Highland Council area on Thursday due to snow, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day will be rescheduled.
Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire are also shut while many others had delayed openings, and in Moray around 12 are closed and others opened late.
South of the border, 89 schools are shut in Devon on Thursday, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall, while in Wales around 10 are closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.
Major transport routes ground to a halt on Thursday morning. The A30 linking Launceston to Honiton was impassable in sections. All trains between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton through Crediton are cancelled. Council gritters are battling to keep main roads open.
Heavy snowfall of up to 15cm was forecast for Dartmoor and Exmoor on Thursday. The south Devon coast faces additional flood alerts from Starpoint to Dawlish Warren with strong winds threatening 2-metre waves.
Seems Xero loves #snow 🌨️🐩❄️ #Exeter #Devon pic.twitter.com/EoyfEa8Ie1
— ᴊᴇɴɴʏ❁ (@webjenny) November 21, 2024
At least ten schools have shut their doors including St Luke's Church of England and Matford Brook Academy. Clyst Vale Community College St James Exeter and Okehampton Primary have also closed.
Between 2cm and 5cm (up to 2ins) of snow was expected widely and it could reach 10cm in some parts of the north-west mainland, with higher ground seeing 15cm to 20cm (up to 7.8ins), the Met Office said.
A yellow warning for ice with a “few sleet or snow showers” was in effect until 10am on Thursday covering most of Scotland, the East and West Midlands, the East, north-east and north-west of England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Yorkshire.
Parts of south-west England including Plymouth and Exeter have also received a yellow warning for snow between 5am and 3pm on Thursday, with 5cm to 10cm predicted in higher parts of Dartmoor.
London was expected to stay dry and bright, but very cold with temperatures reaching no higher than 4C.
Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “A northerly airflow will continue to feed snow showers into Scotland over the next few days, with this reaching lower levels at times and bringing the potential for some travel disruption.
“Overnight temperatures will drop below zero fairly widely over the next few days, which has resulted in some ice warnings, with further warnings likely through this week.
“On Thursday, a mixture of snow, sleet and rain is likely to affect the southwest which could potentially bring disruption. It’s likely high ground in the area will see snow, with a mixture of conditions likely at lower levels. 2-5cm of snow is possible in places at lower levels, with around 10cm possible over higher parts of Dartmoor.”
Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said there would be brighter skies outside the warnings areas across the country on Thursday morning and into the afternoon
But she added that a “severe frost” was also likely before more “bitterly cold” temperatures on Thursday evening.
It comes after new yellow warnings for rain were also published from Saturday to Sunday morning in south-west England and Wales.
There was already a yellow warning for heavy snow on Saturday followed by a “rapid thaw” and rain on Saturday night in north-east and north-west England, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, and much of Scotland.
Met Office spokesperson Andrea Bishop said: “A deep area of low pressure is expected to bring a spell of prolonged and, at times, heavy rainfall across a large part of the UK this weekend.
“Across south-west England, rain is expected to develop during Saturday morning with heavier rain likely later in the day and overnight into early Sunday morning.
“Fifty to 75mm of rain is expected to fall fairly widely during this time with a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-125mm. Strong southerly winds will accompany the heavy rain and may locally exacerbate impacts.”
A cold start to Thursday, with clear skies for many, but a hard frost and icy surfaces in places 🥶
— Met Office (@metoffice) November 20, 2024
Wintry showers continue to linger in the north, whilst a band of rain and snow spreads across the southwest 🌨️ pic.twitter.com/BjBD0aeOQS
More than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland on Wednesday because of the weather, with 52 shut in the Highland Council area, 51 in Aberdeenshire, 11 in Moray and two in Shetland.
Insurance and roadside assistance company RAC said on Wednesday that drivers were suddenly facing “some of the worst road conditions we’ve seen all year” and that a sharp rise in vehicle breakdowns was reported on Wednesday morning as drivers’ batteries failed.
The AA predicted “a major increase in (its) workload” due to sub-zero temperatures, snow and ice, and urged drivers to check forecasts before travelling and to do so with “extreme caution” in the hardest-hit areas.
RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said: “The first taste of winter means drivers are suddenly contending with the some of the worst road conditions we’ve seen all year.
“With freezing temperatures already causing disruption in the east and north of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and snow showers now affecting regions further south, we advise motorists to plan well as ice forms on untreated surfaces.”
