MOTORISTS are being warned of havoc on the roads on Monday as snow turns into ice following a weekend wintry blast.
Hundreds of schools are due to be closed across England at the start of the working week following a cold night which saw temperatures drop as low as -11.6C (11F) in Chillingham Barns, Northumberland.
Snow in Stockton. Picture: Simon Mccabe/The Northern Echo Camera Club
Temperatures in the North-East and North Yorkshire dropped to minus seven in rural spots and forecasters warned there will be frosty, slippery conditions through the whole day.
Delays to services due to train faults:
— Tyne and Wear Metro (@My_Metro) December 11, 2017
Trains are not running to timetable. Trains are running approximately every 15 minutes to all destinations.
Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, please leave plenty time for your journeys.
Traffic is heavy throughout Teesside, with massive tailbacks on the A66 eastbound, and a broken-down vehicle on the A19 flyover was causing major delays on the northbound carriageway.
There was a two-car accident on the A174 Quarry Lane roundabout near Saltburn, slowing traffic down.
Shaun HoweyThe Northern Echo Camera Club
Traffic was gridlocked around Nunthorpe, with routes towards Guisborough and from Stokesley heavy with traffic.
A car left the road and ended up in a ditch on Dixon's Bank.
A chilly day is forecast - and yellow warning for ice is in place for most of Wales and central parts of England - while on Monday night temperatures could drop as low as -15C (5F).
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: "It was chilly in Chillingham Barnes, but it wasn't the coldest night of 2017 - that was Saturday night when temperatures went down to -12.4C.
"We could well beat that tonight and could go as low as -12C and even -15C."
Morning folks - it’s very cold today, please take extra care if you’re out and about, wrap up warm and be safe ❄️🐑 #teamNYP pic.twitter.com/yOBDuHcMMp
— North Yorkshire Police (@NYorksPolice) December 11, 2017
The cold weather has brought disruption to flights, with dozens cancelled at Heathrow, and train services are also likely to be impacted into Monday.
Western Power Distribution said engineers worked through the night as they aimed to restore power to 10,000 home in the Midlands, South Wales and South West.
SSE said they restored power to 48,000 customers on Sunday and that 2,900 remained without power as of 11pm on Sunday night.
As a result of the snow and freezing conditions, Birmingham City Council has been forced to cancel all council-run school and related transport services on Monday, the authority said.
More than 200 schools will be closed in Gloucestershire, and more than 100 in Shropshire.
In Wales, 71 schools are closed in Flintshire, 11 in Wrexham and 49 in Denbighshire.
Pete Williams, the RAC's road safety spokesman, said they are expecting 11,000 breakdowns on Monday, a figure which is 20 per cent above the seasonal norm.
"I think the big thing is people are not going to leave enough time," he said.
"Journeys will take two to three times longer.
"It's going to be treacherous driving conditions."
He said low overnight temperatures could cause black ice and urged people to drive slowly, leaving plenty of space between them and the car in front.
More than a foot of snow fell in Sennybridge in Wales which saw 32cm (12.5 inches) on Sunday.
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