Hundreds of motorists have been caught out by treacherous conditions in North Yorkshire after an Arctic blast smothered the region in heavy snow and sent temperatures dipping to –2C.
Traffic on the A171 near Whitby, Yorkshire, was left on a standstill after snow caused traffic to be impassable, AA Traffic News reports.
Footage posted online shows long queues of vehicles inching along the white-out route, prompting police to warn drivers to avoid the road.
A lorry was also seen stuck on the A169 near Fylingdales, prompting police to divert traffic through Scarborough.
The disruption comes ahead of an amber weather alert covering parts of the North York Moors and Yorkshire Wolds from 3am to 9pm tomorrow, where up to 25cm (10in) of snow is expected.
Wintry showers continue to sweep coastal areas nationwide after 7cm (2.7in) settled in parts of the UK overnight, triggering yellow warnings across East Anglia, the South West, Wales, North East England, northern Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Motorist seen driving through the dangerous snowy conditions
Queues of traffic seen on the North Yorkshire road as police urge drivers to avoid the area
Lorry stick on A169 near Fylingdales, prompting police to divert traffic through Scarborough
One image shared around 5pm today shows vehicles and a lorry trying to drive under the dangrous condition.
One post on the Facebook page North Yorkshire Weather Updates said: ‘17.00 thankfully a lot of vehicles have managed to leave to A171 Birk Brow area between Guisborough to Whitby.
‘But conditions are still treacherous and vehicles are still stuck hour half later.’
North Yorkshire Police said: ‘Please avoid the A171 near Whitby and across the moors towards Guisborough – lots of vehicles are getting stuck due to the weather conditions.
‘The A174 out of Whitby maybe passable at this time. If in any doubt, please don’t travel if you don’t need to. Stay safe out there.’
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has brought in the capital’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which provides extra accommodation for homeless people.
The plan sees boroughs and homelessness charities open additional emergency housing for people sleeping rough in conditions that could pose a threat to life.
SWEP, which is activated when temperatures fall to 0C (32F), was in place for 22 nights last winter when London boroughs housed more than 2,000 people.
In Scotland, dozens of schools and nurseries have shut due to the weather – including 20 in the Highland Council area, 19 in Aberdeenshire and three in Moray.
Queues of traffic in the snowy conditions on the A174 Boulby Bank near the North York Moors National Park
The treacherous conditions for drivers has prompted police to warn motorists
A person walking their dog through the snow in Tow Law, County Durham, this morning
A snowplough on the A9 near Blair Atholl in Scotland today as weather warnings are in force
A train is driven through the snow near Northolt in west London this morning
A person runs as snow begins to fall near Windsor Castle in Berkshire this morning
The Met Office expects further wintry showers on the coasts of northern Scotland ton Wednesday night as well as the east and west coasts of the UK, after more snow fell this morning.
Areas including London, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Essex, Shropshire and Northumberland saw snow, with Met Office weather stations in Lake Vyrnwy in Powys, Wales, recording 7cm of lying snow at 8am.
Other weather stations reporting lying snow include Lerwick in Shetland which saw 5cm, 4cm in Loch Glascarnoch and 7cm in Altnaharra, both in the Scottish Highlands, 2cm in Aviemore, Inverness-shire, and 1cm each in Dyce, Aberdeenshire, Drumalbin in Lanarkshire and at Redesdale Camp in Northumberland.
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has brought in the capital’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which provides extra accommodation for homeless people.
The plan sees boroughs and homelessness charities open additional emergency housing for people sleeping rough in conditions that could pose a threat to life.
SWEP, which is activated when temperatures fall to 0C (32F), was in place for 22 nights last winter when London boroughs housed more than 2,000 people.
