UK travel news - LIVE: Snow and ice cause road closures and flight cancellations across Britain
Yellow warnings for snow and ice were in place across parts of the country
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Your support makes all the difference.Bitterly cold temperatures are swept the UK on Friday, alongside heavy snowfall, ice and freezing fog, particularly in western England.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice were in place across parts of the UK, with overnight temperatures falling to almost -13C in Scotland.
The Met Office warned that road and rail journeys could be disrupted due to the cold weather. Flights were also affected as airports struggled to clear snow.
Further snow and ice are expected.
The runway at Liverpool Airport is currently closed, the airport confirmed.
The airport itself is open, and staff are working to clear the runway of snow.
Liverpool Airport asked customers to contact their airline directly for updates.
An update from Simon Calder:
Arrivals have halted at Manchester airport because of snow.
Eurocontrol said: "Arrivals not available due to snowing until 0930” and warned of “high delays”.
The Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando to Manchester diverted to Gatwick. United Airlines’ arrival from New York Newark and the Tui Airways inbound flight from Cancun diverted to Birmingham.
Lufthansa’s morning flights from Frankfurt and Munich have been cancelled, together with the return legs. Many other flights are delayed.
Manchester is the third-busiest airport in Britain, after Heathrow and Gatwick.
The snow is in full flow in the north west - here it can be seen blanketing a neighbourhood near Stockport:
Over in the States, Storm Jayden is wreaking havoc across the Midwest, with the coldest air temperatures in a generation.
Railway staff in Chicago had to set tracks on fire to keep trains moving smoothly; more than 1,550 trains have been cancelled in and out of the city.
Elsewhere, more than 2,700 flights have been cancelled due to extreme weather, while the postal service has ground to a halt in five states.
The UK's third busiest airport, Manchester, has been pictured covered in snow this morning. All incoming flights have been halted temporarily.
Police in Devon and Cornwall said they dealt with more than 20 collisions and other road incidents in just one hour on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, Gwent Police in Wales warned drivers to be cautious after multiple incidents, including one in Rhymney where a car flipped over on an icy road. It was “a lucky escape for the driver” with no major injuries.
Twitter user "Cloggs of War" has been live tweeting his experience of being stuck on a Lufthansa flight at Manchester airport this morning, unable to get off.
"People drinking beer on the plane. It’s 7.45 in the morning. Hardcore," he wrote.
"How exactly does half an inch of snow close an entire International Airport?"
Severe weather across the North West is causing disruption to Northern train services on some routes.
At present the following areas are experiencing difficulties:
- Buxton - an earlier points failure has been resolved, but there are still delays and cancellations in the area.
- Rainford - a points failure means we are unable to run services between Rainford and Kirkby. Services are starting and terminating at Wigan Wallgate.
- Deansgate Junction - points issues mean we are experiencing delays and cancellations to services running between Cheshire and Manchester.
Where possible, Northern says it will arrange road transport for customers on affected routes, but conditions make this difficult in some locations.
All customers are advised to check before they travel as the wintry conditions are forecast to remain throughout the next few days.
East Midlands Trains says it is working with Network Rail during this spell of wintry weather across most of its routes during the next few days:
As always we will run as many trains as possible where it is safe to do so, however some routes may need to run to an amended timetable. This will be established once we have better understanding of the impact, if any, this cold snap is expected to cause.
Trains across the Southern, Gatwick Express, Thameslink and Great Northern network are expected to run normally during the cold snap.
Customer are advised to take extra care when boarding and alighting services, and also while walking around the station, as walkways and platforms may be slippery.
Owing to icy platforms, passengers are advised to take extra care at Welwyn North station this morning.
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