Wintry weather brought parts of Britain to a standstill yesterday as forecasters predicted “a lot more” snow next week and a bitterly cold weekend.
Dozens of schools were closed and many roads were impassable, while a plane from Lanzarote with 196 passengers on board overshot its landing at Newcastle airport.
Though Scotland and the northeast of England once again bore the brunt of the bad weather – with dumps of up to 30cm recorded in the Highlands and North Yorkshire – snow was also drifting across Wales and the South West.
Forecasters said the cold snap was set to tighten its grip, blanketing swathes of the country in white by the middle of next week.
Some 25 centimetres are expected to fall over higher ground today and parts of the Midlands and London will not remain unscathed.
Aisling Creevey, of Meteo- Group, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “It’s definitely staying cold and going into next week, we could see a lot more snow.
“There is a low pressure system across the country and if it moves the way it is looking to at the moment, it’s going to be very windy, very snowy and really bitter.”
Even London is likely to get a dusting of the white stuff but this is unlikely to last and any heavy snowfall is likely to be short-lived.
However, people have been warned the wintry spell could last for at least 10 days as biting winds swoop in from the North Sea and night-time temperatures plummet.
During the day, these will struggle to get above freezing in many areas.
The unusual weather – and the earliest November snowfall for 17 years – has been caused by high pressure over Greenland and low pressure in the Baltics, forcing cold winds from the northeast across Europe.
It has seen daytime temperatures hover between 0°C and 5°C and between -2°C and -9.1°C at night, which was recorded at Redesdale Camp, Northumberland.
The county was also hit by one of the heaviest snowfalls yesterday after six inches fell in some areas.
A similar amount fell in Aberdeenshire, 12cm and 10cm in Durham.
Yesterday the Met Office issued severe weather warnings for widespread icy roads and heavy snow across the northwast, Yorkshire and Humber, East Midlands, the East and southwest England as well as parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Meanwhile, motorists battled treacherous conditions amid warnings of black ice.
Police said all roads in the Grampian region were covered in snow and ice yesterday morning while the A93 at Glenshee, the A939 to Ballater and the A957 Crathes to Stonehaven, at the Slug Road, were also blocked in places.
Many cars struggled to get off the driveway and by 12.30 p.m., the AA had attended around 8,000 call-outs which were coming in at more than 1,300 every hour yesterday afternoon.
Paul Leather, AA patrol of the year, said: “Cold weather affects the chemical performance of batteries, so they really take a pounding during this weather.”
Aberdeenshire council said 121 schools in the area were closed or partially closed because of snow while some children in Durham were also turned away from classes.
Newcastle airport also closed for a short time after the Thomsonfly Boeing 737-800 struggled to land.
No one on board was injured.
John Hammond, Met Office forecaster, said: “This snow we’re seeing at the moment and expecting to see is the heaviest widespread snow since November 1993 when the Highlands got around 30cm and North Yorkshire got 27cm.
“Winds are continuing to blow in from a north-easterly direction over the course of the rest of this week and into next week. Even where we haven’t had any snow, temperatures are going down to -5°C or -6°C in several places.”
Forthcoming sporting fixtures could be at risk with racing at Newcastle today becoming one of the first of the weekend’s casualties.
Bad weather could also hit today’s FA Cup second round matches.
The RSPCA was bracing itself for a busy period.