Airports, roads and races crippled by snow and gales

Winter bites » more drifts and plunging temperatures forecast

Fresh snow showers were forecast for northern Britain last night as drifts and plunging temperatures continued to cause widespread chaos.

Fresh snow showers were forecast for northern Britain last night as drifts and plunging temperatures continued to cause widespread chaos.

Up to 800 homes, mainly in the Ayrshire town of Stranraer and rural Aberdeenshire, were forced to endure a second day without power after gale-force winds of up to 85mph brought down power cables.

Many roads were closed entirely, while others were severely affected by ice and drifting snow. Aberdeen and Inverness airports were temporarily closed by snow drifts.

Northern Ireland was also battered, with over 2,000 homes left without power.

Across the Atlantic, meanwhile, residents of Buffalo, New York State, were struggling to cope with 7ft of snow.

British sporting fixtures were badly hit. Motherwell's Scottish Premier League clash with Dundee was abandoned and in England, Carlisle postponed their home match with Torquay and a national hunt meeting at the town's racecourse was also cancelled.

Forecasters warned that the weather in the north was likely to get colder over the next few days, dropping as low as -5C (23F) in places.

"The south is starting to clear now after some snowfall overnight, but snow and sleet showers will continue, especially in exposed coastal areas, and from the north-east down to East Anglia," said a Met Office spokesman.

For thousands of British ski enthusiasts, the problem has been a shortage of snow, however. Despite last-minute snow showers, many French resorts were unable to operate at full capacity.

For those who stayed at home, there were signs yesterday that the post-Christmas sales rush was beginning to slacken. After last week's frenzy, which saw queues forming outside some shops from midnight on Boxing Day, many of the busiest high streets seemed muted.

By 10am, there was a minor scrum around the reduced cashmere section in Marks & Spencer on London's Oxford Street, but elsewhere the activity were less frenetic. Kate Harris, 47, of Ongar in Essex, said: "Always, after Christmas, you go out and take a look at the sales and think, 'Well, I'd rather pay the full price and not have the crowds' – if you look in there now, there's nothing much left – just the rubbish."