Large parts of the UK have been brought to a standstill by the early freeze
Travellers across parts of the UK face further misery as airports, roads and rail continue to be badly hit by snow.
Gatwick Airport – expected to reopen on Thursday morning – will remain closed until at least 0600 GMT Friday, with another 15cm of snow falling overnight.
Southern trains has suspended its services and Southeastern is running an emergency timetable.
Severe snow warnings have been issued for Scotland and north-east, eastern and south-east and south-west England.
In England, Met Office has issued heavy snow warnings for the North East, Yorkshire and Humber, East, London and the South East, and South West England.
In Scotland the warnings apply to Grampian, Strathclyde, Central, Tayside and Fife, and South West, Lothian and Borders.
Snow has been particularly heavy around Gatwick, with some 25cm of snow recorded at Chorleywood in Surrey – 15cm of this falling overnight.
A Gatwick spokesman said: “We are doing everything we can to resume operations, however conditions have deteriorated considerably. Our teams are working around the clock to make the runway safe for aircraft to use and get our airlines and passengers flying again.”
Edinburgh airport is hoping to re-open at 1000 GMT on Thursday, but Robin Hood Airport near Doncaster will not be open until midday at the earliest.
There will be no Southern services running south of East Croydon until further notice, while a limited service will begin in the “London Metro” area at 1000 GMT.
Southeastern trains, which runs out of London Victoria and Charing Cross, is operating an emergency timetable.
National Rail Enquiries has set up a hotline for information about snow-related disruption on 08453 017 641, and also has updates at @nationalrailenq on Twitter.
On the trains, passengers on one early evening service to Brighton had to sleep in carriages overnight.
Half of Eurostar’s services between London and Brussels on Thursday have been cancelled, as have seven out of 17 services each way between London and Paris.
The Association of Train Operating Companies said rail operators and Network Rail were “doing all they can to keep trains moving and get people to where they need to be”.
About 100 motorists spent the night at South Anston methodist chapel near Sheffield, after being stranded on the A57 since Tuesday evening.
Police were advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary – especially in the worst-hit areas of Scotland, Yorkshire, Derbyshire and south-east England.
WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
Get the latest on school closures and travel problems via your local website Check if snow is forecast in your area at BBC Weather Details of motorway and local road closures and public transport disruption are available at BBC Travel News For advice on handling difficult driving conditions, see the Highways Agency website For information about severe weather warnings, see the Met Office website For information about staying healthy in the cold weather, see the NHS Winter Health website
Supt Chris Moon, of Surrey Police, said the county’s conditions were the worst he had ever seen and were likely to deteriorate further.
He added: “I have put out several severe weather warnings in my career, but this one I really must stress.”
Police in Kent advised freight traffic not to enter the county unless absolutely necessary as gale force winds are forecast. Some roads in the west and north of the county were impassable due to snow and ice.
Police say they are increasingly concerned about fell walker Gwenda Merriot, 60, from Wiltshire, who was last seen in Ambleside in the Lake District on Wednesday morning. Heavy snowfall was forecast for the area overnight.
More than 250,000 Scottish children had a day off on Wednesday – about 40% of all those of school age – many for the third consecutive day, with a third of councils closing all their schools.
Some local authorities have told parents that schools will remain closed for the rest of the week. In total, more than 1,500 of 2,722 schools were shut.
An avalanche warning was issued in the Cairngorms, near Aviemore, a popular location for skiers.
One of the worst affected areas of England is South Yorkshire, where snowfall of up to 30cm (12in) brought parts of the county to a standstill.
Overnight, temperatures hit lows of -11 in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and -14 in the north western Highlands.
BBC weather forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said there was 1m (3ft) of snow across parts of north-east England.
There could be up to 30cm of snow in southern England by the end of Thursday. There will also be more snow showers in north-east England.
On Thursday night, temperatures of up to -25C (-13F) to -30C (-22F) in some parts of Scotland are forecast.
The AA motoring organisation said there had been a failure to deal with jams on motorways and major roads, and breakdown service Green Flag said local authorities had not spread enough grit on minor roads.
Mr Hammond said: “Decisions about closing the motorway would be decisions for the Highways Agency and enforcement of traffic regulations are of course, a matter for the police,” he told the BBC.
“We will work together with all the agencies concerned to look at what has happened, to look at how best, and how most effectively, to tackle the problems that we have seen in order to get the motorways working, to get the railways working, and to get Britain back to normal as quickly as we possibly can.”
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