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Schools, transport and mobile phone signals were disrupted today as 'thundersnow' storms wreaked havoc across swathes of the country.
Manchester Airport suspended all departures and arrivals and more than a dozen rail services between the city and Yorkshire were cancelled as the north west of England was hit hard by a burst of wintery weather.
More than 200 schools in Northern Ireland, Scotland and England were shut on Thursday.
The freezing conditions look set to continue as snow, sleet and hail are expected to hit most of the UK over the next few days.
The Met Office has issued yellow 'be aware' weather warnings for snow across most of England, Scotland and Wales.
Children play in the snow in the grounds of Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland Heavy snow in the Loxley area of Sheffield A snow covered Durham Cathedral Heavy snow falls on the A690 into Durham A cyclist makes his way through a blizzard in Durham A walker makes his way through the snow in the grounds of Stormont, Belfast, Northern Ireland A police car and JCB on the closed A68 near Consett, County Durham UK winter weatherShow all 30 UK winter weather UK winter weather Cars make their way through the snow in the Loxley area of Sheffield
UK winter weather UK winter weather A cyclist makes his way through a blizzard in Durham
UK winter weather UK winter weather Heavy snow falls on the A690 into Durham
UK winter weather UK winter weather Picture of snow taken through a window of a plane stuck at Manchester Airport
UK winter weather UK winter weather A woman walks in heavy snow in the Loxley area of Sheffield
UK winter weather UK winter weather Heavy snow in the Loxley area of Sheffield
UK winter weather UK winter weather A snow covered Durham Cathedral
UK winter weather UK winter weather Snow covered graves at St Joseph's Church in west Belfast, as an orange weather alert is announced in Northern Ireland
UK winter weather UK winter weather Sheep in snow, in the Glens of Antrim, as an orange weather alert is announced in Northern Ireland
UK winter weather UK winter weather Snow Blizzards on the A9 road near Blackford, Perthshire as snow blizzards sweep across the country
UK winter weather UK winter weather A cyclist on Dumbarton Road in Stirling during a snow blizzard
UK winter weather UK winter weather A dog walker walks through the Kings Knot area below Stirling Castle during a snow blizzard
UK winter weather UK winter weather Vehicles driving down Dumbarton Road in Stirling during a snow blizzard
UK winter weather UK winter weather Scotrail train travels through snow covered country side near Lenzie, Scotland
Rex Features
UK winter weather UK winter weather A man digs his car out of the snow near Shaw, northern England
UK winter weather UK winter weather A dog walker in the snow on the Pennine hilltops near Reeth in the Yorkshire Dales, as many parts of the UK were on snow alert with wintry showers threatening to disrupt travel
John Giles/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather A snow plough on the A93 near Guildtown, as snow brings fresh disruption to parts of the UK
Danny Lawson/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather Andrew Millington (left) and Stephen Peacock walk near the Spittal of Glenshee as snow brings fresh disruption to parts of the UK
Danny Lawson/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather Snow covers the A68 near Corbridge in Northumberland, as many parts of the UK were on snow alert with wintry showers threatening to disrupt travel
Owen Humphreys/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather A car makes its way through snowfall in Gortin near Omagh, as many parts of the UK were on snow alert with wintry showers threatening to disrupt travel
Niall Carson/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather Sleaford Lincolnshire in the snow Boxing Day 2014
Mark Suffield
UK winter weather UK winter weather Snow at Liverpool's John Lennon Airport, which closed temporarily on Friday night
@dazza1405/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather Maisy Byrne, aged nine, (left) and sister Lulu Byrne, aged seven, have fun as snow falls on Boxing Day in Gateacre, Liverpool
Peter Byrne/PA Wire
UK winter weather UK winter weather A decorative snowman surrounded by real snow outside a house in Eccleston Park, near Prescot, Merseyside
PA
UK winter weather UK winter weather Maisy Byrne, 9, left, and sister Lulu Byrne, 7, have fun as snow falls in Gateacre, Liverpool
PA
UK winter weather UK winter weather Snowfall in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire on Boxing Day
PA
UK winter weather UK winter weather A man pushing a motorcycle through snow in Newtown Linford, Leicestershire on Boxing Day
Reuters
UK winter weather UK winter weather On the M6 near Sandbach
Leonie Raby
UK winter weather UK winter weather Snow swirling around the grounds of Lichfield Cathedral on Boxing Day
Andrew Fox
UK winter weather UK winter weather Referee Mark Clattenburg during the Premier League football match between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in the Midlands
Reuters
Showers and overnight frosts also brought the risk of icy stretches forming on untreated surfaces, while strong winds accentuated the bitter cold feel.
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