Key events
Scotland train disruptions
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LNER says it will not be travelling to any stations north of Edinburgh – a pause expected to last until at least 2pm today
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LNER advising customers not to travel between Edinburgh and Aberdeen/Inverness. No rail replacement buses are being provided.
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Disruption to journeys in northern Scotland is expected to continue until the end of Tuesday, 6 January says National Rail
What are yellow warnings?
They’re used by the Met Office to flag that there will likely be some low-level impact from the weather, such as some travel disruption.
Scattered snow showers and icy patches have the potential to cause disruption to travel in places on Monday into Tuesday morning.”
The Met Office tells people to expect:
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Longer journey times by road, bus and train services due to affected roads and railways
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Icy roads and surfaces could lead to slips and falls and resulting injuries
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Icy patches on untreated roads, cycle paths, pavements
The warnings for snow and ice apply to most of the UK at the moment, including Northern Ireland, Wales, much of Scotland north of Glasgow, south-west England, north-west England, the Midlands, east England and the north-east of England.
Steven Morris
Situation in Wales
Dozens of schools have been closed across Wales and there have been difficult driving conditions and disruptions to train services in parts of the country.
Some schools have been shut in Gwynedd, Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend county, Caerphilly, Pembrokeshire and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, was closed until 1pm on Monday due to heavy snow.
Transport for Wales and Traffic Wales warned there could be delays because of the severe weather and there were speed restrictions on a section of the M4 in south Wales because of snow.
Cornwall council said its gritters were out and about but asked people to take extra care and allow more time for journeys.
More than 180 schools closed in Northern Ireland
Rory Carroll
In Northern Ireland 186 schools closed, affecting thousands of pupils, and there was widespread travel disruption. The government website NI Direct provided a list of the schools.
Ice, snow and weather warnings made it too risky to open on Monday, said Philip McCullagh, the principal of St Patrick and St Brigid’s College in Claudy, County Derry.
“It is very, very bad,” he told BBC Radio Ulster. “It will take a long time for us to clear our site but also the footpaths as well. It’s as bad as I’ve seen it.”
Belfast City and Belfast International airports cancelled several flights.
Translink, which runs transport services in Northern Ireland, warned of delays to bus routes, with some services operating on main roads only.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland urged motorists to take extra care. “Clear your windscreen of ice and snow before you set off on your journey, and remember to slow down and increase the distance between you and the vehicle ahead.”
Scotland has endured most of the heavy snowfall
Northern Scotland has borne the brunt of the severe temperatures overnight with heavy snowfall prompting amber warnings for the Highlands and Aberdeenshire areas, Orkney, Shetland, and Outer Hebridean Islands.
Amber warnings come into play when authorities want to flag the increased likelihood of impact from severe weather, including the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.
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Already, schools in Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, Aberdeenshire and many in Moray were closed today.
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ScotRail has warned of disruptions around its Aberdeen and Inverness routes. Network Rail Scotland said the Aberdeen-Dundee, Aberdeen-Inverness, Inverness-Wick/Thurso and Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh services were unlikely to run until midday.
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Aberdeen airport has recorded several cancelled Loganair and British Airways flights this morning, although flights later in the day are still scheduled to go out.
The Met Office warned of temporary blizzard conditions given the strong winds. They forecast another 5-10cm of snowfall and up to 20-30cm on higher ground.
The cold weather has also led to disruption at airports, with delays and cancellations due to safety concerns.
Loganair cancelled flights from Aberdeen and Inverness after heavy snowfall, while Liverpool John Lennon airport said at 8am its runway was closed due to wintry conditions and some flights were subject to delays and cancelations.
Schools shut and flights cancelled
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of UK weather conditions with hundreds of schools shut and flights cancelled due to snow.
Amber weather warnings were in place until 10am today for snow in parts of Scotland with as much as 30cm expected in some places, while yellow warnings for snow and ice cover much of the UK.
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