First taste of winter snow brings closures and travel disruption

Large parts of the UK were blanketed with snow yesterday as the country got its "first taste of winter", which brought school closures, train delays, difficult driving conditions and an appeal to check in on vulnerable people.

- Mark Brown & Rachel Keenan

Met Office yellow severe weather alerts for snow and ice were in place across northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, central and southern Wales, and eastern counties from the Scottish Borders to Norfolk, with forecasters warning of potential hazards through this week.

A yellow weather warning of icy patches on roads, pavements and cycle paths across the Midlands and southern England was issued yesterday by the Met Office, in place until mid-morning today. Earlier there had been warnings for northern England and the Midlands, while snow also fell in areas not covered by the alerts, including central London.

The cause is an Arctic maritime air mass, meteorologists said, meaning it will be extremely cold all week.

More than 220 schools were closed across the UK, including about 140 in Wales. The University of Derby closed its campuses in Chesterfield, Buxton and Leek because of the weather.