UK weather - as it happened: Snow and ice cause travel disruption and motorway crashes as coldest night of year expected
Follow how the day's weather and travel news unfolded as coldest night of year predicted
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Dangerous conditions on the roads have caused disruption, cancellations and delays as winter tightened its grip on the UK.
Police and breakdown services warned of black ice patches and urged motorists to drive carefully. The AA said it can take up to 10 times longer to stop on icy roads.
The Met Office issued yellow warnings of ice for large parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland after snow brought major disruption and power outages to swathes of the UK on Wednesday.
The RAC said ice caused an "incredibly busy" morning, and as a result of the conditions dealt with a number of battery failures, minor bumps and shunts, and skidding.
Meanwhile the AA described the country's roads on Thursday as "appalling" due to the "dicey icy roads".
Forecasters now believe the country is headed for its coldest night of the year year.
Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Stansted airport on Wednesday and fliers may experience fresh delays because planes will need de-icing, with London Luton urging passengers to check with their airlines before travelling.
The Met Office said temperatures fell to as low as -4.5C in Katesbridge, Co Down, in the early hours of Thursday while most parts of the UK hovered around 0C.
Two yellow warnings for ice covering parts of the country were in place until 11am, with road users being warned of treacherous conditions on untreated surfaces.
Sub-zero temperatures are expected widely across the UK again on Thursday night, with the mercury expected to plunge as low as minus 10C (12F) in parts of Scotland and Wales.
A yellow warning of snow has been issued for the East Midlands, the north of England down to the Humber and southern Scotland from 3am on Friday until midday.
A band of occasionally heavy rain is due to move eastwards across the UK that will turn to snow as it meets cold air, with up to 5cm expected.
Additional reporting by agencies
Welcome to our live blog of travel disruption and the effects of wintry weather around the UK.
Highways England is reporting a single lane of the M1 is closed southbound between J29 and J28 while an overturned vehicle is cleared from the carriageway.
The authority said it expected normal traffic conditions to resume between 1.45pm and 2pm.
A passenger whose Ryanair flight from Stansted was cancelled last night has told The Independent of chaotic scenes at the airport on Wednesday.
She said she had been forced to travel to Heathrow to catch a different flight to Bulgaria.
The 28-year-old woman said: "We were supposed to fly at 4.50pm. We didn't find out that our flight was cancelled until about 10.20pm. It took us hours to get our bags back.
"I've basically been travelling for 19 hours now.
"There were children sleeping on the floor. Older people up on the chairs. Apparently Stansted were giving out blankets and food.
"It's just an absolute disaster. Last night when they were saying there's water available by the toilets, there was basically a stampede, people were parched.
"There was just no help available. Late at night [the airport] started saying sorry on the tannoy. It was chaos."
Forecast
Here is a video of the Met Office's forecast for today
A crash on the M58 eastbound closed two lanes earlier today. Police have reported a number of crashes on the M62 and M58 and warned drivers to slow down.
A vehicle has overturned on the exit slip road at J10 westbound on the M56, officers from the North West Motorway Policing Group said.
Surrey road police say: "It's currently 0°C at Cobham and temperatures are likely to remain low throughout the day. Please take care and plan for all journeys however small. You'll appreciate warm clothing, torch and provisions if there's a problem."
London Luton Airport said in its morning update: "The airport is open and the runway is operational. However some flights may be subject to delay. Passengers should check with their airline for the status of their flight."
Overnight Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks restored power to 19,000 customers who had been without electricity in central southern England. As of 11pm yesterday 200 hundred complaints were still to be fixed.
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