More than 46,000 homes in East Anglia are without power after snow and severe gales hit much of the UK, causing widespread travel disruption and the closure of many schools.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for very strong winds for most of England. Gusts of more than 80mph were recorded A separate yellow warning for snow and ice in western Scotland and Northern Ireland was extended to cover northern England.
Snow forced all the schools in Scottish borders to stay shut, while more than 100 were closed in County Durham, North Yorkshire and Cumbria. Electricity cuts from wind-damaged power lines forced the closure of more than 30 schools in Norfolk.
High winds also forced the closure of the Queen Elizabeth bridge across the Thames in Dartford, causing delays on the M25. In Cambridgeshire, drivers were advised to travel only if necessary after lorries were blown over on the A47 and A11. In Suffolk, the Orwell bridge on the A14 was briefly closed. Tibenham, in south Norfolk, recorded gusts of 83mph, while wind speeds of more than 70mph were also reported in Somerset, Lincolnshire and Suffolk.
Police in Surrey, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, and Lincolnshire responded to reports of a large number of fallen trees.
The weather also affected the railways. Overhead electric wires were damaged between Wolverhampton and Stafford in the Midlands, and trains from East Anglia into London’s Liverpool Street were disrupted by an object blown into overhead electric cables near Stratford. There was a similar problem on the line between Ipswich and Colchester.
In Wales, a freight train hit two sheds that had blown on to the line between Newton and Welshpool, causing cancellations. Overnight temperatures dropped to -7C (19F) in Loch Glascarnoch, in the Highlands. Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway recorded up 36cm of lying snow, while Spadeadam in Cumbria had 23cm after 20cm fell on Wednesday night.
A man tries to locate his car buried in the snow in Leadhills, Scotland, yesterday.
