Large parts of Britain are braced for another day of travel disruption, as freezing weather brought “extremely dangerous” conditions on the roads and “thundersnow” in Wales.
Police said they were responding to multiple collisions on roads across England and Wales after widespread snow and ice in the early hours of Wednesday.
Scotland had some of the heaviest snowfall overnight after a “polar low” brought a short, sharp blast of blizzard conditions and temperatures fell to -8C in the Highlands.
As forecasters predicted a third day of freezing weather on Thursday, trains ground to a halt in parts of England and police said they were dealing with an increase in road collisions.
In Wales, Dyfed-Powys police warned of “extremely dangerous road conditions” as a phenomenon known as “thundersnow” rolled across the country and into north Devon on Wednesday.
Thundersnow occurs when thunderstorms erupt in wintry conditions and give rise to heavy downpours of snow, according to the Met Office.
In Somerset, authorities declared a major incident over rising floodwater in the county.
The Environment Agency, whose staff are on strike, said it was responding to flooding incidents in Somerset, flood risk in the Bristol Avon area and monitoring rising groundwater levels in Dorset.
It said declaring a major incident was a “precautionary” move but it was the second in the county in as many days after dozens of construction workers were injured when a bus overturned in icy conditions on Tuesday.
Emergency services responded to a diesel spillage overnight after a fuel tanker crashed in heavy snowfall on the A49 near the town of Whitchurch, in Shropshire.
A Met Office yellow weather warning for ice and snow was in place for large parts of Britain on Tuesday.
Forecasters expect another band of snow showers to affect the Highlands as well as parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and north-west England on Thursday, causing another day of travel disruption for many.
