Northern Ireland and Scotland face a very icy Boxing Day, forecasters warn December is on course to be the coldest since records began in 1890, the BBC weather centre has said.
Christmas Day is likely to be extremely cold around the country, with overnight temperatures dropping to minus 17C at Worcester and minus 18C at Altnaharra in northern Scotland.
A severe weather warning for western Scotland is in place due to ice, BBC forecaster Liam Dutton advised.
The Highways Agency has urged drivers to take care in difficult conditions.
Some of the coldest overnight temperatures included minus 17C in Pershore, Worcs, minus 15C in Castlederg, County Tyrone and minus 11C in Leeming, North Yorkshire.
On Christmas Day, parts of Scotland and possibly north-east England were the only places likely to see snowfall, Liam Dutton added.
With December likely to be the coldest for over a century, the rest of the country will be dry and bright with patchy freezing fog, he said.
“On Boxing Day, as people start to move about, rain, sleet and snow is forecast for Scotland and Northern Ireland, bringing with it a significant ice risk,” he added.
Travellers hoping to get away from for the festive season have struggled with reduced train services, frozen roads and delays and cancellations cancellations to flights.
WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
Get the latest on travel problems and school closures 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
The AA said Christmas Eve call-outs were 40% above normal due to Christmas shopping and the festive getaway.
It estimated that it covered about 13,000 breakdowns by the end of 24 December compared with just over 9,000 on a normal Friday.
On Christmas Eve, police and coastguards were called to help drivers stuck in cars after blizzard conditions affected the Whitby area of North Yorkshire.
Several train companies operated amended timetables, with some services scrapped on the main London to Scotland routes up the east and west coasts.
The RMT transport union said it was “scandalous” that operators could introduce “special” timetables while escaping financial penalties.
British Airways said all its long-haul flights from Heathrow airport as well as the vast majority of short-haul services flew as scheduled.
Away from Heathrow, some short-haul flights were cancelled from some other UK airports due to the continuing bad weather in Europe.
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