UK weather - live updates: Snow and severe winds to hit Britain as Amsterdam Airport cancels all flights
Yellow 'be aware' warnings issued for wind as gusts reach over 80mph
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Drivers have been warned to only travel if necessary as severe gales and snow showers bring travel disruption to much of the UK.
Almost all rush-hour trains to London Waterloo, Britain's busiest station, were either cancelled or delayed, and many rail lines across the country were blocked by fallen trees and debris.
A yellow warning for snow and ice has been issued for northern England, Northern Ireland and parts of southern and central Scotland.
Follow the latest updates on the severe weather and travel disruption below
Poor weather conditions are also affecting railways in the Midlands, with overhead electric wires damaged between Wolverhampton and Stafford.
Passengers are being warned to expect delays to and from Manchester Piccadilly, between Birmingham New Street and Crewe, through Birmingham New Street and between Birmingham New Street and Redditch.
On Wednesday, persistent snow and ice caused treacherous driving conditions and brought the M74 in Scotland to a standstill, but Traffic Scotland said there were no significant incidents on the roads for rush hour traffic and traffic on the M74 was "coping well".
During the night, Police Scotland issued a "stage four" warning, advising drivers to avoid travelling on roads in areas covered by amber snow warnings.
This was later downgraded to stage three to warn motorists of a "high risk of disruption" during the morning.
Amsterdam airport has cancelled all flights due to the violent storm lashing the Netherlands.
Schiphol Airport tweeted shortly after 10am GMT to say it was halting all takeoffs and landings "until further notice" because of the severe conditions.
Stormy weather brought traffic chaos as it toppled trees and blew over tractor trailers.
Here's more information about the travel chaos affecting the Netherlands.
More than 100 schools have been shut due to snow, Durham County Council said.
More closures are expected elsewhere in the north-east of England.
Police forces in the north-east of England have warned drivers to take care on the roads following a number of collisions, including on the A1 near Durham and stuck lorries on the A19 in South Tyneside.
A yellow severe weather warning has been issued for ice across western England and Wales.
Rain, hail, sleet and some snow showers will continue leading to difficult driving conditions and some longer journey times.
All schools in the Scottish Borders are closed due to the severe weather, while 13 schools and six nurseries in the Scottish Highlands are shut.
As much as 35cm of snow fell across northern parts of the UK last night.
North Yorkshire Police has said officers dealt with dozens of weather-related crashes but there had been no serious injuries.
These included a collision between a tanker and a Volkwagen Golf on the A59 at Blubberhouses, in the Yorkshire Dales, a lorry that jack-knifed on the southbound A66 at Ravensworth and a "milk cart" which came off the A684 at Patrick Brompton.
A spokesman said a driver was injured when a Renault Clio crashed through a hedge after a sliding on ice and ended up in a field on the B6267 at Nosterfield, near Bedale, at around 8.30am.
"It has clearly been a difficult time on the roads due to the snowfall overnight," he said.
"Thankfully there have been no serious or minor injury collisions reported during this period, although the dozens of damage-only collisions have kept the emergency and highways teams busy."
Gatwick Express, Southern Rail and Thameslink trains could be delayed up to 15 minutes or cancelled.
A powerful storm is also bringing transport chaos to northern Europe.
Traffic on Dutch roads has been plunged into chaos, with the wind blowing over tractor trailers and toppling trees and hampering efforts to clean up the mess. In Amsterdam, authorities halted all trams and closed the city's zoo.
Neighboring Belgium also was hit by the storm, with the port of Ghent closed because of the high winds and tram traffic halted in parts of the capital, Brussels.
German Railways canceled all train services for the country's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia as the storm moved to Germany.
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