UK weather - as it happened: Snow and ice cause travel disruption and motorway crashes as coldest night of year expected
Follow how the day's weather and travel news unfolded as coldest night of year predicted
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Your support makes all the difference.Dangerous conditions on the roads have caused disruption, cancellations and delays as winter tightened its grip on the UK.
Police and breakdown services warned of black ice patches and urged motorists to drive carefully. The AA said it can take up to 10 times longer to stop on icy roads.
The Met Office issued yellow warnings of ice for large parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland after snow brought major disruption and power outages to swathes of the UK on Wednesday.
The RAC said ice caused an "incredibly busy" morning, and as a result of the conditions dealt with a number of battery failures, minor bumps and shunts, and skidding.
Meanwhile the AA described the country's roads on Thursday as "appalling" due to the "dicey icy roads".
Forecasters now believe the country is headed for its coldest night of the year year.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Stansted airport on Wednesday and fliers may experience fresh delays because planes will need de-icing, with London Luton urging passengers to check with their airlines before travelling.
The Met Office said temperatures fell to as low as -4.5C in Katesbridge, Co Down, in the early hours of Thursday while most parts of the UK hovered around 0C.
Two yellow warnings for ice covering parts of the country were in place until 11am, with road users being warned of treacherous conditions on untreated surfaces.
Sub-zero temperatures are expected widely across the UK again on Thursday night, with the mercury expected to plunge as low as minus 10C (12F) in parts of Scotland and Wales.
A yellow warning of snow has been issued for the East Midlands, the north of England down to the Humber and southern Scotland from 3am on Friday until midday.
A band of occasionally heavy rain is due to move eastwards across the UK that will turn to snow as it meets cold air, with up to 5cm expected.
Additional reporting by agencies
The Environment Agency has issued six flood warnings this morning. Heavy rain and snow have raised water levels in the Rivers Anker, Avon and Blythe among other sources.
Essex Police say the driver of this car had a lucky escape.
The AA warns it can take up to 10 times longer to stop a car on icy roads.
Police in Northern Ireland say they are receiving "a lot of reports" of black ice. But they also warn drivers not to leave their vehicles unattended while they are defrosting windows and windscreens.
Heathrow Airport tells The Independent its services are currently "running smoothly" and there is no reported disruption.
A number of other road traffic collisions have been reported by Highways England.
The hard shoulder and one lane are closed at the M1 southbound exit slip at J4.
One lane is closed on the A47 westbound between the junctions with the A1260 and the A1.
Both should be clear by midday.
Coldest night
Sub-zero temperatures could bring the coldest night of the year as Britain's deep freeze looks set to continue for another day.
Arctic air hovering across the UK will cause the mercury to plummet on Thursday night, with temperatures below -13C expected in parts of Scotland.
A yellow warning of snow has been issued for the East Midlands and the north of England for Friday morning, but the Met Office has since warned this could be extended.
Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said there could also be an area within this warning that may be upgraded to amber, and said up to 10cm of snow could fall.
She said it is "probably central areas of England" that will be affected by the heaviest snowfall as the working week comes to a close.
But Ms Maxey warned the country could see the "coldest night of the year so far" before the snow blankets parts of the country.
"The coldest temperature we have seen this year is -13C in Scotland, and we are likely to see temperatures slightly below that," she added.
"But we are not talking about those extremes in the town and city centres, it is out in rural areas, more exposed areas, particularly over lying snow where you see temperatures drop the most."
PA
A dog walker in the Malvern Hills in Worcestershire, as plunging temperatures and widespread ice are expected to cause more problems for road and air travellers on Thursday (PA)
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