Heavy snow could cause power cuts and road closures in parts of the UK as the country is hit by freezing weather that has caused widescale disruption.
The Met Office issued a number of yellow and amber weather warnings for snow and ice on Tuesday, with Scotland expected to be the worst hit.
An amber warning for heavy snow is in place for parts of eastern Scotland, including Inverness and Aberdeen, from 3pm on Tuesday, with the Met Office warning drivers are expected to become stranded.
With up to 15cm of snow expected in the area, it said some rural communities could become cut off, there will be rail and air cancellations, mobile phone coverage may be affected and power cuts were likely.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place for Wales, Devon and Cornwall, the West Midlands, the north-west, south-western Scotland and Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the public was urged to travel only if “absolutely essential” in some parts of the country.
Avon and Somerset police said it was advising the public to stay off the roads after receiving more than 100 reports of road-related incidents in five hours.
Fifty-three road traffic collisions were reported to police between 6-11pm on Monday, the majority a result of the freezing weather conditions.
On Tuesday morning, a serious incident was declared after a doubledecker bus carrying 70 passengers overturned on the A39 in Somerset, leaving dozens injured.
Supt Mark Runacres said: “We are advising the public to only travel where absolutely essential due to the treacherous driving conditions. If travel is necessary, we ask the public to take extreme caution and allow additional time to travel.”
The Met Office said Monday night was the UK’s coldest of the year so far, with a low of -9.8C recorded in Topcliffe, North Yorkshire, and all of England is expected to experience cold weather until 9am on Friday.
Jason Kelly, the chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: “Cold, icy and sometimes snowy conditions are in the forecast this week with the UK seeing more of a north-westerly regime, with temperatures well below average for the time of year. Wintry showers are likely at points through the week in the north of England.”
The UK Health Security Agency has also encouraged people to stay warm and look out for those most at risk from the effects of cold weather.
Meanwhile, the Environment Agency (EA) said its officers were working around the clock to protect homes and businesses along the River Severn, with more than 25 flood warnings in place across Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire.
Across England, there were 83 flood warnings in place on Tuesday afternoon, meaning flooding is expected, with East Sussex, the Isle of Wight and other areas in south-east England predicted to be affected.
The EA said rivers in the West Midlands and north-east England were likely to remain high for the next four days and could lead to further flooding.
