Snow disruption across UK

Good morning. Heavy snow is expected today - the Met Office has a rare red warning for snow in place for parts of Wales. This means severe disruption is likely.

There is an amber warning for Northern Ireland and most of England, with snow also due in parts of Scotland.

Transport companies have been taking steps to minimise travel disruption amid warnings of heavy snow across most of the UK.

Around the regions - so far, 15 schools and three colleges are closed in the Somerset area. You can check out the latest closures by clicking here.

In Wiltshire, many schools are closing for the day. First travel update - South West Trains have cancelled services between Bristol and Salisbury, but First Great Western is still running on that line at the moment.

More than 30 schools are already closed in Gloucestershire - although students taking exams are expected to make it in.

Air travel now - it's snowing at Bristol Airport and some disruption is expected through the morning. Passengers are advised to contact their airline.

On the roads, the M4 has been closed between junctions 36 and 37 near Bridgend in south Wales. Lorries are stuck on both carriageways. Restrictions are in place on the M48 Severn bridge between junction 2 for Chepstow and junction 1 for Aust.

You can check out the latest travel news by visiting BBC Travel.

London Road in Chippenham, Wiltshire, is closed - standing water used to put out a fire a couple of days ago has frozen.

Across to Oxfordshire, and six school closures so far. No major snow overnight though, just flurries in places.

Southampton Airport is closed until at least 10:00 GMT.

More than 70 schools and colleges are closed in the West Midlands.

Twenty-six schools are closed in Suffolk. Many others are shifting their times to close early or open late.

Norfolk County Council says 225 schools are closed for the day in the county.

Cardiff Airport is closed due to snow.

Back to Somerset - 60 schools and four colleges closed.

Shropshire - 47 schools closed.

No flights are able to take off or land at Bristol Airport because of snow.

In Wiltshire, a gritting lorry is stuck in Warminster and an ambulance is trapped in snow at Lyneham. Local farmers are being deployed by the council to help out in the county.

News for horse racing fans - this afternoon's meeting at Chepstow has been abandoned due to snow.

The A35 at Emery Down in Lyndhurst, Hampshire, is impassable after four crashes. Lorries are unable to climb the hill.

About 130 schools are closed across Birmingham and the Black Country.

Another horse racing meeting off - Saturday's fixture at Haydock has been abandoned due to snow.

The BBC's Steve Fairclough took this photo of a snowy street in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff.

Our man Steve Fairclough has been busy with his camera, as snow falls in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff.

Fifteen schools in Berkshire are closed due to snow. The majority of these are in the west of the county.

Road conditions are causing problems in the north-east of England. Ch Supt Gary Calvert: "We continue to monitor weather forecasts and conditions across the force, and have officers out and about on the roads and in our communities this morning."

Snow comes to the Channel Islands, as this picture sent in by BBC Jersey's Chris Rayner shows.

South Wales is being particularly badly hit - here's a round-up of school closures.

Shropshire - now 62 schools closed or affected by the weather.

More than 50 schools across Oxfordshire are closed due to snow.

Christopher McIndo in Pontypool, Torfaen, sent this photo: "Roads are covered with some cars slowly creeping along. Trains are mostly unaffected with some delays due to delays on a previous journey."

Latest news in Norfolk and Staffordshire.

This from Wiltshire Council - it has been told by the Met Office that the road surface at night will not get above freezing for the next four days.

South Wales, south and west England are among the worst-hit places for snow at the moment. This van driver decided against trying to climb a hill in Bristol.

Latest situation in Gloucestershire - about 300 schools closed, snowploughs are in action.

0828: Ian Smith took this photo of drifting snow in Dowlais, near Merthyr Tydfil, and said it took just two hours to reach this depth

In Wiltshire, 178 schools and colleges are closed. Up to 4in of snow is expected in some areas. Gritting teams have spent the night on main routes. No departures or landings so far this morning Bristol Airport. South West Trains is not running any services between Salisbury and Bristol - but First Great Western is and it is accepting South West Trains tickets. Thamesdown Transport has cancelled its bus services between Swindon and Marlborough, Lambourn and Hungerford.

Somerset update - 134 schools now closed.

Latest on the snow at Southampton Airport - really sorry but we will not have any flights until 1500 today due to the weather.

Hundreds of schools have been closed and transport disrupted as a band of heavy snow affects most of the UK - check our news story for a round-up of the latest situation.

More than 400 schools have been shut in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Some 71 schools closed in Shropshire. Meanwhile, Jimbob texts BBC Radio Shropshire: "With all these school closures, let's hope Chirbury Church is open as I'm getting married at 11.30. Going on the tractor".

About 300 schools closed in the Bristol area.

In Norfolk, 306 schools are still closed.

The BBC's Phil Mackie reports from Worcestershire: "Hundreds of schools have closed already this morning. Those with sixth forms are making arrangements for A-level Maths students to sit this afternoon's exams. Long stretches of the M5 and M42 are down to two lanes. Gritters are keeping the main routes open, but traffic is very light and that means the snow is settling fast. There are signs of drifting because of the accompanying wind."

Eurostar has cancelled four trains today - these tickets can be exchanged within 60 days for another service.

In Wales, 1,100 schools are now closed. Special arrangements are being made in many areas for A-level and AS-level students who are due to sit exams today.

Snow closes Bristol Crown Court.

More school closure lists - Berkshire, Derbyshire and Sussex.

Check out the school closures in Surrey.

In Suffolk, 34 schools and three children's centres are closed. Eastern parts of the county had 2ins of snow overnight and more is expected this morning.

From Southampton Airport: "It is snowing heavily at Southampton Airport this morning and there will be no flights operating until 15:00 today. So far there have been cancellations to the following flights: Amsterdam, Manchester, Edinburgh and Newcastle. The operational team at Southampton Airport have been working through the night to prepare for the snow and the snow ploughs are currently clearing the runway. However, snow is expected to continue throughout the day. Passengers planning to travel today should check with their airlines for the latest information prior to coming into the airport."

More than 300 schools and colleges closed in Gloucestershire. Pupils taking AS-level exams today were told to attend.

About 70 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow Airport. A spokesman said: "This is primarily because of problems at other airports. Obviously the snow is affecting the whole country and it just means there's a knock-on effect here." The length of time between flights has been extended for safety reasons.

The message from Heathrow and Gatwick is to check your flights. Gatwick said on its website: "Snow is expected at Gatwick this morning and during the course of today. Please check the status of your flight with your airline before travelling to the airport. Allow extra time for your journey to Gatwick as road and rail networks may be impacted."

Wales round-up:

• More than 1,200 schools closed
• 10,000 customers without power - the biggest problems are in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire, but Swansea, Bridgend, Cardiff and the Valleys have also had problems
• The M4 has reopened, but conditions on many roads are treacherous. Many minor roads are impassable.
• Cardiff Airport is closed until at least 10:30.
• Delays of up to 40 minutes on First Great Western trains between Bridgend and Cardiff Central. Line between Rhymney and Cardiff Queen Street closed.
• Council services and hospital appointments disrupted

More on that wedding in Shropshire - seems Jim was serious about the tractor:

Jim Jones, 26, and Heather Morris, 24, are taking no chances as they head for Chirbury Church in south-west Shropshire across the snow. They've been together five years, and chose today as their wedding date, 14 months ago. Jim told BBC Radio Shropshire: "We've been watching it [the weather forecast] very closely for the last two weeks." Family members are travelling from Southampton and even across the Atlantic to be at the wedding. "I was nervous, but I've got other things on my mind", he said.

The M4 is shut eastbound before the Bath junction. Traffic is tailing back for several miles.

Watch the BBC Wales weather forecast with Behnaz Akhgar.

British Airways has cancelled more than 60 flights and said this was likely to increase through the day.

In Hampshire, gritters have been deployed around Southampton General Hospital to help traffic get in and out. Several bus companies have suspended services. Police say all main routes have at least one lane open, but conditions are treacherous.

This from Andrew Anderson in our Dundee newsroom: "Bad weather has forced the closure of one school in Angus so far. Pupils are being taken home from Isla Primary school near Kirriemuir because of the weather and access difficulties."

School closures in the West Midlands - Birmingham and Black Country more than 150, Hereford and Worcester 160, Coventry and Warwick 50, Shropshire 70, Stoke 55. Total in the region 485.

This snow-covered plane was at Southampton Airport.

This picture postcard scene is from Bristol today.

The number of cancelled flights at Heathrow has increased to 77.

Another horse racing meeting bites the dust - Wolverhampton this afternoon has been abandoned. News on all the sporting cancellations feature in Sportsday Live.

A rare red Met Office warning for snow is in place for parts of Wales - Hywel Griffith reports from Merthyr Tydfil.

Fiona Chapman took this photo of a very white bike: "My parents are visiting from Australia and we're meant to be visiting family in Birmingham, but will be staying in Bristol until the snow clears."

Call of duty - a police officer braves the blizzard conditions outside Number 10.

The port of Felixstowe is struggling in the bad weather. Export containers are being allowed through but capacity for imports is reduced. The port was closed overnight due to heavy snow and a large back log is now in place.

Harry Pitchers took this photo of traffic stuck in snow on Whiteladies Road in Bristol earlier this morning

Latest Wales story - scores of schools are closed and transport is disrupted in north Wales as heavy snow moves up from the south.

Heathrow update - the northern runway has been closed for 45 minutes to clear the snow which has started to settle. The southern runway will be closed for the same process to be carried out. Twenty-four snow clearing vehicles have been deployed and 125,000 litres of de-icer were used across the whole of the airfield this morning.

Christopher Taylor appears to be in rather inappropriate clothing while enjoying the heavy snow in Pontypool in South Wales

Snow and freezing conditions have hit this weekend's sporting schedule with football and racing fixtures postponed.

A snowy backdrop for these hardy rooftop bathers at a spa in Bath.

An update from the AA on roads and breakdowns: "Nowhere near as busy as yesterday, as you'd expect, so we have to assume many people have heeded the warnings and stayed at home. So far today we have attended around 3,300 breakdowns nationwide. This morning was pretty quiet but the rate has now jumped up to more than 1,200 breakdowns every hour. Busiest areas are the south coast, parts of the South West, Midlands and London. By the end of the day we expect to attend up to 9,000 call-outs which is slightly fewer than we'd attend on an average Friday."

Now 170 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow due to the runway closures.

In Berkshire, 101 schools closed in the county's six local authority areas.

Update from Jersey Airport: "Today's weather conditions continue to cause disruption for flights to and from Jersey Airport today. A break in the weather has allowed airfield technicians to de-ice the runway, which is currently closed until approx 1pm."

In Northamptonshire, 54 schools closed so far.

Charlotte Airey's picture of a snow-covered gorilla statue from Bristol Zoo, which now lives in her garden in Frampton Cotterell, Gloucestershire. Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124

In pictures: Images of the snowfall in Wales

Arriva has recalled all its buses which operate from Shrewsbury bus station because of safety concerns in the snow.

John Wilkes sent this photo of heavy snow affecting Kingshill Road in Dursley, Gloucestershire

Train operator First Great Western says services between London Paddington and south Wales, and in the Southampton area are currently affected by the snow. The message is check your journey before you travel. All ticket restrictions have been lifted for the rest of the day and passengers can use their ticket for travel tomorrow.

What are your rights if you can't get to work because of the weather - can your boss dock your pay? And what happens if you have to stay off work because your children's school is closed? Find the answers here.

This afternoon's horse racing meeting at Lingfield has been abandoned due to snow.

This is the message from chief operating officer Francesca Thompson, of the Royal United Hospital in Bath: "Most of the hospital outpatient clinics are running this morning, but we are asking patients and visitors not to put themselves at risk by travelling to the hospital, unless it's absolutely necessary."

Cotswold District Council has cancelled all waste collections today because of the snow.

Pembrokeshire has been badly hit by power failures, with up to 6,000 of the 10,000 customers affected in the Haverfordwest and Llansiangle areas. There have been power failures across the south Wales region, including Ogmore Vale, Brecon and Swansea.

West Midlands Police say a dog's snowy paw prints led them on a mile-long journey to the home of two suspected metal thieves overnight, after a gas meter and pipework was stolen from the front of house in Coseley in Dudley. "The fact that we knew we were looking for the specific tracks of two people and a dog meant that the officers who quickly arrived at the scene were able to establish exactly which prints to follow," said Sgt James Jones.

More than 100 schools closed this morning in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, and another 200 are closing early as the snow spreads in.

Heathrow latest: 179 flights cancelled. There are delays and cancellations at London City and Leeds/Bradford airports.

Saturday's big race meeting at Ascot has been abandoned due to snow.

About 150 schools have been closed in Merseyside and West Cheshire.

Ten school closures in North Yorkshire, in the Scarborough, Filey and coastal areas.

Snow covers the rooftops of houses in Swansea.

Paul Smith's daughter Kayla is seen cooking snow burgers in Swansea

Here's Local Government and Communities Minister for Wales, Carl Sargeant: "I would urge people to consider if they really do need to make that trip and where possible avoid non-essential journeys. Both the Welsh Government and local authorities will be working around the clock to co-ordinate the routing and operation of our snowplough and gritters so they can get to where they are needed."

Dyfed-Powys Police: "Police officers throughout Dyfed-Powys have been going the extra mile to protect residents and 4x4 vehicles are available in areas that have been worst hit by the weather, to enable officers to respond to emergency calls."

About 86 schools closed in Northamptonshire.

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Jukes, of South Wales Police: "The heavy snowfall overnight has proved challenging for the force, but we are extremely proud of the commitment and dedication of our staff who have gone to extra lengths to ensure it remains business as usual for South Wales Police."

Now 130 schools closed in Berkshire.

Ellie Howells provided this wonderful picture of her dogs enjoying the snow in Pentwyn Farm, Llannon, Carmarthenshire

There are some great pictures here - snowy scenes in Bristol. Check out the snowmen on the park bench.

Graeme Hilditch sent in this photo of his children, Poppy and Jasper, enjoying the snow on the sledge for the first time!

Richard Knisely-Marpole took this photo from Grinlow, looking over to the A53 Axe Edge road in Buxton Spa, Derbyshire

Birmingham Airport is closed. All flights have been suspended until 14:45.

Explore our interactive map to check where the Met Office has issued warnings and see images and video reports from BBC correspondents across the country.

How cold is it where you are? Compare the temperature where you are with 50-plus cities around the world, including some of the hottest and coldest inhabited places.

A primary school in Stranraer in Dumfries & Galloway has closed for the day because of bad weather. Stranraer Academy is also shutting this lunchtime. It comes after advice from police about deteriorating road conditions in SW Scotland.

Members of the Household Cavalry pass by Buckingham Palace on their way to snow-covered ceremonial duties at Horse Guards Parade.

There are now almost 1,200 schools closed across the West Midlands region.

Grant sent a picture of Freddie and Archie enjoying the snow in Penllergaer, Swansea

A reminder that these are the links for BBC Weather and BBC Travel News.

Blackpool Zoo's two Amur tigers, Alyona and Zambar, aren't bothered by the wintry conditions.

The Mall shopping centre at Cribbs Causeway in Bristol is closing early at 16:00 because of snow.

A warning for commuters making their way home this evening, from Southeastern trains: "The wintry weather is disrupting our services - please consider planning your journey home early as you will need to allow additional time. No trains are going to or from Victoria until further notice, please use Charing Cross, Cannon St, London Bridge and St Pancras as alternatives."

The lemurs at Tropiquaria Zoo in Watchet, Somerset, have found a cheeky way to stay warm - by reaching into a heater cage and turning up the thermostat themselves. Zoo director Chris Moiser said: "The normal lemur behaviour in the cold is to huddle, but these do that and then take it in turns to have a heater huddle too." And here's one of those pesky primates:

Adverse weather conditions have hit flights out of Belfast International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport in Northern Ireland.

Now here's a round-up of some of the airports. Having closed and reopened the north runway, Heathrow closed the south runway just before 12:30 to clear ice and snow. Heathrow said 240 flights had been cancelled today, mostly short-haul ones. Southampton said there would be no flights before 17:00 at the earliest. Bristol said its runway was clear and flights were departing but warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations.

More than 300 schools have closed across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire because of the snow, some of which have been closed all day with the majority closing at lunchtime.

An update from Southeastern trains - a reduced service is operating from Victoria, but the advice is still to use Charing Cross, Cannon St, London Bridge and St Pancras as alternatives.

Birmingham City Council is aware of 76 schools that decided not to open, while 25 schools chose to send pupils home early.

The University of Wolverhampton has closed all its sites due to the worsening weather conditions. Almost 700 schools are closed across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Staffordshire.

Both runways are now open at Heathrow. Flights remain suspended at Birmingham Airport where snow is still falling.

BBC News website readers have been sending in their pictures of today's snow.

Fourteen-year-old Jess Hearn makes the most of being let out of school early in St Albans, Herts.

Latest from Bristol Airport: Runway open and flights now operating, although subject to delays and cancellations as a result of earlier weather conditions. Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the latest flight information. Meanwhile, Birmingham Airport has suspended all flights until at least 18:00.

More than 110 schools in Northamptonshire are now closed or closing early because of the snow.

Southampton Airport will be closed until at least 17:00. Public buses to the airport have been cancelled and there is a reduced train service.

Engineers have restored power to 5,000 customers, but the supply to another 5,000 remains cut off in south and west Wales because of the weather.

At Birmingham Airport, the snow has affected 35 arrivals and 45 departures. All flights remain suspended until 18:00.

Two coaches have broken down on the A3 in Hampshire with one person on board being treated for a diabetic condition. Drivers stuck northbound from Liphook services have been told not to abandon their vehicles.

More than 1,000 people are without electricity after a power cable came down in Ower, Hampshire. Engineers hope to reconnect them by 17:00 GMT.

A Network Rail spokesman says 78% of trains are running on time in London and south-east England - down from 85% earlier.

Deliveries of packaged food are being carried out in Minchinhampton and Chalford in Gloucestershire to help feed vulnerable people.

There have been severe delays on the Metropolitan line between Harrow-on-the-Hill in north-west London and Aldgate in the City of London, on the Tube network. There has been no service anti-clockwise on the Circle line due to an earlier faulty train at South Kensington in west London. Contingency plans have been put in place for Tube services.

Snow has prompted the closure of schools across England, including 88 in Bedfordshire, 76 schools in Hertfordshire and 209 in Buckinghamshire.

Sent in by Frank Decmar from Reading who said: "I always thought snowflakes were microscopic but have a look at these that fell this morning, spotted by my son on the way to school. My finger is in shot for scale!"

Ian Gibson in West Sussex owns wallabies who are experiencing very different temperatures from those they are used to in Australia.

Engineers seen here repair a power cable that fell onto a road during heavy snowfall near Narberth, in west Wales. Engineers say they have restored power to 5,000 customers in Wales but the supply to another 5,000 remain cut off.

The snow has proved the undoing of some criminals. A 22-year-old man is being questioned by police in connection with an attack on a man who had his mobile phone and wallet stolen in Pottergate, Norwich. Police arrested the alleged perpetrator after reportedly following fresh footprints in the snow to him.

The Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour will go ahead tonight at the National Indoor Arena, in Birmingham, prompting numerous complaints from those unable to attend because of the weather.

A mountain rescue operation has been launched to find a hillwalker missing in severe weather who became separated from a group at the Cairn Toul mountain, in the Cairngorms, at around 12:45 GMT. Grampian Police and Braemar Mountain Rescue are working with the RAF to conduct the search.

Sam Bilner snapped this shot at Bitton station near Bristol.

Alison Gahagan in Surrey sent in this picture of New Haw lock adding where almost four inches of snow has fallen.

Telford's artificial ski slope is currently closed because of the snow.

Use our interactive map to discover where the Met Office has issued weather warnings. Images and video reports from BBC correspondents across the country can also be found there.

The hillwalker who was lost on one of Scotland's highest mountains, sparking a major search and rescue operation, has been found safe and well. The woman is believed to be uninjured.

Sarah Ahmed's children were sent home early from school in Walsall, but they made the most of their free afternoon enjoying the snow at home.

Daniel Barratt in Littleton Pannel, near Devizes, Wiltshire, tried to make sure Susan the snow woman had a degree of modesty.

The adverse weather conditions have hit hit flights from Belfast International and George Best Belfast City airports. An International Airport spokesman said a flight to Bristol had been cancelled and all other departures to the rest of the UK were running with slight delays. Some services from Belfast City Airport have also been cancelled or delayed.

Dave and his son, Jake, clearing snow in Lower Bullingham, Hereford, earlier today.

Three-year-old Bailey the Chow Chow was snapped in Southampton by his owner Emma Ridley looking slightly perturbed by the snow

How cold is it where you are? Compare the temperature where you are with more than 50 cities around the world.

A Belfast City Airport spokesman says the runway has been closed for half an hour to allow snow to be cleared but the airport remains open.

A 16-year-old girl has been airlifted to hospital with serious head and back injuries after a snowboarding accident in Lancashire. The teenager was snowboarding on Parbold Hill, near Wrightington, this afternoon when she is thought to have crashed into a barbed wire fence. She was taken by air ambulance to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Simon Winson from Surrey has captured his dog Meg's first taste of snow

There have been some 406 cancellations out of the usual 1,300 flights that pass through Heathrow. One reason is the poor visibility. There has been very low visibility at the airport throughout the day.

As you might imagine, it's a busy day at the helm for Radio 2's traffic news co-ordinator Bobbie Pryor. She's been given a five-minute slot on Simon Mayo's show to update listeners with the latest news from the roads, railway and airports. Deep breath, Bobbie...

Among the headline points of Bobbie's report are the news that the A54 is closed between Buxton and Bosley, the nearby A537 is also closed and the very icy conditions on the M50 between the M6 and the M1 mean that traffic there is moving at just 10mph. All the motorways around Birmingham are, in Bobbie's words, "solid". The only good news she proffers is that the long queue southbound on the M42 around junction 3 is now mostly cleared. She'll be back on air in the next half-hour with more updates.

Kevin Roberts captured this snowy pier earlier today at Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset.

Scotland has so far managed to miss the worst of the snow which has hit much of the UK, although yellow "be aware" warnings have now been issued for some areas. Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire are said to be in most danger of being hit with heavy snow from tonight into Saturday morning.

Birmingham Airport has reopened, the BBC's Phil Mackie reports.

The Scottish government has advised people to prepare for heavy snow and icy conditions. "The Scottish government's resilience operation is already liaising closely with the Met Office, councils, police, transport authorities and the range of other agencies and organisations who are working together to try and minimise the disruption for individuals, families and communities," says Transport Minister Keith Brown.

The chaos caused by snow is the second story on the BBC's News at Six. BBC Wales correspondent Hywel Griffiths, in Merthyr Tydfil, where he says a few snow flakes are still falling. Check out our gallery of images from Wales, where there has been severe disruption.

Julian Dent was forced to wait three hours after his British Airways flight from Los Angeles landed at Heathrow Airport before he was allowed to disembark because of the snow. He said that the gates were blocked by planes awaiting departure and needing to be de-iced.

For those just joining us, remember that you can keep abreast of the latest developments by visiting the BBC Weather and BBC Travel News websites.

Fiona Bruce will host a special programme - Snow Across Britain - about the weather at 19:30 GMT on BBC1. However, it won't be aired for viewers in Scotland.