UK weather - as it happened: Met Office issues red severe weather warning amid travel disruption as heavy snow hits Britain
Hundreds of schools closed as conditions set to worsen
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Your support makes all the difference.Severe weather caused major travel disruption across the UK and Ireland on Wednesday as the “Beast from the East” tightened its grip.
Road closures, stranded vehicles and cancellations were widespread due to snow and ice.
Services on trains and planes were disrupted, with travellers urged to check with their transport provider before setting off on journeys.
Rail passengers were warned to avoid travelling to or from Scotland for all of Wednesday and into Thursday.
Meanwhile, hundreds of schools across Britain were closed for a second day.
Forecasters predicted the snow and freezing temperatures would not let up any time soon, prompting the Met Office to extend some of its weather warnings.
Rail companies warned delays may continue into Friday.
British Airways said the weather was likely to continue disrupting flights throughout the week.
From Thursday, forecasters predict that another weather system, Storm Emma, will bring blizzards, gales and sleet.
Follow along for live updates
The storm, named by the Portuguese Met Service, was expected to move north through Europe and was due to hit the UK on Thursday and Friday.
Additional reporting by agencies
Ryanair has cancelled all flights to and from Dublin Airport for the rest of the day as a result of the heavy snowfall overnight.
"All affected customers have been notified of their options by email and SMS text message,'' the airline said.
Ryanair apologised and urged customers using other airports to check the status of flights online before setting off.
Aer Lingus has also cut a number of flights and warned further cancellations and delays throughout today were possible.
Shannon Airport, on the country's west coast, said it had handled 14 flight diversions from Dublin Airport.
Ireland's Met Office has issued a red warning for most of the country and said 16cm of snow had fallen in some eastern counties.
An Aer Lingus plane lands at Dublin airport today
The Irish government has advised people in the provinces of Munster and Leinster to remain indoors from 4pm tomorrow until at least midday on Friday due to "serious blizzard conditions".
Government departments and agencies which are not involved in the providing essential services will be shut for the next two days, and the Office of Emergency Planning has urged employers to close if possible.
There will be "serious disruption" to public transport, with many buses and trains not running.
Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Wicklow and Meath are also covered by a red warning for snow and ice between 4pm tomorrow and noon Friday.
Police in Cheshire have discovered one advantage to all this snow. Officers were able to catch two thieves in Macclesfield by following their footprints.
The Met Office website has been struggling to cope and has seen around 10 times the usual amount of visitors.
An error message was displayed in the weather warning section after a red alert was issued for parts of Scotland.
↵ScotRail has urged commuters in the red warning area to head home now.
The train operator tweeted: "As a result of the Met Office warning, services in the red area will begin to wind down this afternoon in the best interests of our customers and staff. Safety is central to this decision.
"In areas where the red weather warning applies, customers should head for home now. There will be no train services in the red weather warning area tonight, or first thing tomorrow morning."
Our reporter, Harry Cockburn, took these snowy snaps from the top of Hastings' West Hill this morning, where about three inches of snow fell overnight.
Hastings beach was covered with snow (Harry Cockburn)
The view across the old town in Hastings (Harry Cockburn)
Commuters have also shared pictures of snow inside their train carriages. Enough accumulated for them to build a miniature snowman.
Hundreds of schools across the UK have been closed by the heavy snow.
Some of the affected areas include:
- Kent, 529
- North Yorkshire, 244
- Suffolk, 370
- East Sussex, 49
- Stockton-on-Tees, 41
- Doncaster, 40
- Middlesbrough, 38
- Hartlepool, 35
Public Health England (PHE) has urged people to plan ahead to ensure they have enough food and medicine.
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