The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning - its second most severe weather alert for which people need to be prepared - for a vast area of the region north of Spennymoor, from 9pm tonight until 5am on Thursday morning.

A Met Office spokesman said deluges of snow may affect mobile phone signals, while power cuts could affect phone networks and advised people to ensure their mobile phones were charged in the event of power outages.

Temperatures are set to remain close to freezing in parts of the region from Thursday, until Saturday, with forecasters predicting lows of -3 degrees in places including Durham. 

A Met Office spokesman said: "A spell of persistent and heavy snow is expected on Wednesday night, clearing eastwards by dawn on Thursday morning.

"Travel delays are likely on roads with a risk that some vehicles and passengers could become stranded.

"Delays or cancellations are likely to rail and air travel. Some rural communities are likely to become cut off and power cuts are probable. Other services, such as mobile phones, may be affected."

The Met Office had already issued a yellow weather warning for much of North Yorkshire north of York and the whole North-East as blizzards and snow made some roads impassable.

Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the network that delivers electricity to homes and businesses across the North East and Yorkshire said it was prepared should the forecasted strong winds, snow and ice affect its power network.

Winds of up to 70mph, alongside snow and ice which were expected to affect Northern Powergrid's operating area this from late this afternoon and are expected to last until late Thursday morning. Forecasters have predicted potential gusts of up to 80 miles per hour in some high areas.

Snowfall overnight on Tuesday has seen several inches of snow in the region. 

In County Durham, snow was causing hazardous road conditions.

Bad conditions were reported on the A19 near A182 Hall Walks and B1283 Hall Walks at Easington, with some drivers reporting having to turn back. 

Police in Consett urged motorists to avoid the A68 at Rowley, near Castleside, which was blocked due to “snow and collisions”. They have now reported it has been cleared and has now reopened.

Snow ploughs were out on many roads overnight, including in the Yorkshire Dales. 

Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) reported high winds and blizzards over the past 24 hours. 

Shunner Fell in the Yorkshire Dales. Picture: Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team

The rescue volunteers have been particularly busy with call-outs since the bad weather began, including a request to help the fire service with a person trapped in a vehicle in snowy conditions.

The volunteers were stood down en route.

A Northern Powergrid spokesman said: “We’re monitoring the weather very closely and have already taken action to ensure that we have extra engineers ready to restore power and carry out repairs if there is any damage to our network as a result of the conditions.

“We’re also ready with additional advisors at our local 24-hour contact centre – who can be reached by calling the free 105 power cut number - as well as teams in other locations around our business who will be ready to offer our customers support and advice. 

“Our website, northernpowergrid.com, has an easy-to-use power cut map and reporting service which our customers can use to report a power cut and get updates about what we’re doing to get their lights back on.

“We’re encouraging customers to take a few minutes to add 105 and bookmark our website on their mobile phones so they are ready to use our services if they need to.  They may also want to watch our short and informative videos, which will help them know exactly what to do if they do have a power cut.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Durham Police warned motorists to only drive if they absolutely needed to if weather conditions deteriorated.

"Another band of heavy snow is heading our way tonight," they wrote on Facebook. "The Met Office has issued an Amber warning for large parts of County Durham starting at 9pm and continuing until 5am tomorrow.

"Anything up to 20 centimetres of snow is forecast along with strong winds, which means disruption is likely and we could well see road closures through the night.

"Our advice is don’t drive unless it’s absolutely necessary and if you really do have to venture out, avoid the back roads and be properly prepared for the conditions."