Schools forced to close as Artic blast causes coldest night

Snow and ice has blanketed Scotland and northern England as temperatures drop below freezing

Around 200 schools have been forced to close due to the cold weather (PA)

Schools across Scotland and England have been forced to close as an Artic blast causes temperatures to plummet below freezing, with yellow weather warnings issued for snow and ice.

Much of Britain are facing another day of cold conditions and travel disruption, with parts of the country reaching -15C overnight.

Some parts of northern England, including Merseyside, woke to snow on Tuesday morning, with outbreaks of sleet and snow forecast to become more persistent during the day.

Meanwhile, parts of northern and eastern Scotland saw the “bulk of the snow” on Monday, with 15cm recorded on the ground at Aberdeen Airport.

Snow has caused transport disruption with drivers urged to show caution (PA)

The cold weather has caused around 200 schools across Aberdeenshire, Moray and Shetland to close due to snow on Monday, with several remaining closed or delaying their openings on Tuesday.

In a post on their website, one primary school said they would be closed due to the “adverse weather” and that they had “no transpiort running due to the dangerous road conditions” once pupils and staff left main routes.

Several schools in Merseyside were also closed, including Riverside Primary, Holly Lodge Girl’s College and Gateacre School.

A “cold plunge of Arctic air” has moved south across the whole country over the past few days, making it 5C to 6C lower than usual for this time of year, the Met Office said.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said Tuesday could see a “persistent band of snow” over three to six hours across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England and Wales.

The ‘Artic blast’ is due to continue until Wednesday (PA)

He said: “In the early hours of the morning we’re looking at temperatures getting down to -12C in a few spots, Tuesday night possibly down to -15C.

“So certainly a very cold spell into Wednesday.”

As a result of the cold weather, National Highways has put in palce a severe alert for snow affecting the north-west on Tuesday, with drivers advised to plan ahead and rural communities warned they could be temporarily cut off.

Amy Fellows, national network manager at National Highways, said: “Freezing conditions bring so many hazards such as snow and ice, so take every possible step to understand your journey in advance and allow lots of extra time when travelling to prepare for the unexpected.”

The UK Health Security Agency has also issued a Cold-Health Aelrt and warned of possible impacts on the health and social care sector.

This comes as the government confirmed that thousands of households would be eligible for cold weather payments, which helps vulnerable people, including pensioners, to pay for their heating.

The government has announced cold weather payments will be made available to vulnerable householders (PA)

It goes to those living in an area where the average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below over seven consecutive days.

Payments will be made to homes across Cumbria, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Staffordshire and Powys in Wales.

Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said: “There will be widespread frost this week and we could see some fairly deep laying snow in parts of northern UK and strong winds could result in drifting or blizzard conditions at times.

“The snow and ice will be disruptive and could potentially impact travel plans, make driving dangerous and pavements slippery.”

Forecasters say there is the potential for “some snow” in southern England mid-week as a low-pressure system moves across northern France.