UK weather: Amber warning for snow as bitter cold snap continues

Areas of It snowed from London to Shetland on Wednesday.

There were dozens of school closures across north-east Scotland and the Highlands, as well as road closures, including at Woodhead Pass between Hollingworth and Flouch in Derbyshire and on the B4391 between Rhyd and Sarn and Pen y Bryn in north-west Wales.

Temperatures on Wednesday night could fall to -5C (23F) in Scotland and northern England, and -3C (26.6F) in other parts of England and east Wales.

With a frost expected, areas where showers or rain and sleet have left the ground wet are at risk of ice becoming a hazard on roads and sidewalks. Forecasters warn that buses and trains could be canceled or delayed.

But conditions are unlikely to resemble those spell of snow and ice this time last year which closed hundreds of schools and saw 12cm of snow in Nottingham.

Over recent decades, the Met Office has noted a decline in the frequency, duration and intensity of cold snaps, clearly linked to climate change. According to the latest Report on the state of the climate,, external Outdoor, aerial and ground frosts have been reduced by approximately a quarter since the 1980s.