Key moments
Commuters are being warned of treacherous conditions this evening as the temperature plummets.
Rail operators are still experiencing significant disruption after the heavy snowfall overnight, with issues expected until the network shuts down this evening.
Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern, Thameslink and Southeastern are the worst-affected operators. The worst of the weather hit London and the home counties.
More than 300 flights were cancelled at UK airports this weekend, amounting to 11 per cent of total departures. A total of 119 departures were cancelled at Heathrow, the UK’s biggest airport, according to Cirium, the data company. More than 90 were cancelled at Gatwick. A further 300 flights across the UK have been cancelled today because of the weather.
The RAC has reported that it has attended more than 4,000 callouts because of the freezing temperatures.
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The roadside assistance company said it was responding to about eight breakdowns every minute on average, “some 40 per cent more than we’d expect on a typical Monday in December”, it said in a statement.
“Drivers should only drive if conditions allow and they feel confident enough to do so, sticking to main routes where possible as these are more likely to be well gritted,” the RAC said. “Motorists should carry a blanket and a fully charged mobile phone in case of breakdown.”
The temperature will have fallen below freezing across almost the whole of the UK by 6pm, with slush turning to ice.
The Met Office issued a new yellow weather warning this morning for ice in the east and southeast of England. It is active until 11am tomorrow. There are widespread warnings for snow and ice across the country.
The UK experienced its coldest night of the year so far last night. The Met Office said that Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded a temperature of minus 15.7C.
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Hundreds of schools are closed up and down the country, although many moved lessons online.
Very cool: your pictures of the snow
Times readers braved the cold to capture views up and down the country.
Click here to view some of our favourites sent in on Instagram and Twitter.
Money Mentor: Can I get a £25-a-week cold weather payment to help cover energy bills?
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Snow has fallen in large parts of the UK as temperatures fall below freezing. With millions of households likely to have cranked up the heating as a result, bills could grow very steeply.
However, there is help at hand as the cold snap could trigger a cold weather payment, a subsidy given to those on the lowest incomes when the average temperature falls to 0C or below for seven consecutive days.
Read the advice from The Times Money Mentor in full
Delayed commuters pass time with snowball fight
London Underground passengers passed the time during severe delays this morning with a cross-platform snowball fight (Benjamin Barraclough writes).
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Commuters were filmed throwing snowballs at each other across the tracks at West Ham Tube station. The video was shared on social media.
One viewer commented: “You are never too old for a good snowball fight”. This attracted 15,000 likes.
Are you entitled to compensation for travel cancellations?
Flight cancellations and delays
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled, but compensation for stranded or delayed travellers is limited because the situation is beyond the control of airlines (Ben Clatworthy writes).
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Travellers are not entitled to cash compensation, but if your flight is cancelled the airline must rebook you on an alternative flight, or offer a refund. The airline also has a duty of care if your flight is delayed, including offering accommodation and food if necessary. This starts at two hours’ delay for short-haul, three hours for mid-haul and four hours for long-haul.
Some passengers have complained that airlines told them to pay for accommodation and claim it back later. This is common practice, so keep your paperwork. Airlines are obliged to pay “reasonable costs” and should do so typically within 21 days.
What are the rules for delayed trains?
Compensation rules for rail travel are different from air travel. Under the Delay Repay system, passengers are eligible to claim for compensation regardless of whether the train operator was responsible for the delay, so delays caused by snow are covered.
Compensation is owed on delays of 30 minutes or more, but some companies will pay out for delays of 15 minutes. Most rail operators require passengers with single or return tickets to fill out a form. Season-ticket holders are also eligible for compensation.
What about refunds for cancelled trains?
If the train was cancelled and you chose not to travel, you are entitled to a full refund and should not be charged an administration fee. Many train operators have also relaxed their usually very strict conditions of travel not only because of the snow, but because of the RMT strikes planned for this week. The leniency allows passengers with advanced tickets to travel at a later date without penalty.
• When are the train strikes this week? December and January dates
Disruption at airports as 300 flights axed
An easyJet spokeswoman said the airline was “doing everything possible” to ease the disruption for passengers as bad weather led to flight cancellations for a second day (Ben Clatworthy writes).
More than 300 flights have been cancelled in the UK today. At Heathrow, British Airways has cancelled more than 70 flights, while more than 50 easyJet flights from Gatwick have been axed. More than 20 flights from Luton have been cancelled.
The easyJet spokeswoman said: “Airlines operating to and from the UK today are experiencing some disruption to their flying programmes due to adverse weather, with a number of cancellations at Luton and Gatwick airports which are both affected by snow.
“Flights were also affected yesterday as snow closures affected Manchester, Liverpool, London Gatwick and London Luton airports with some flight cancellations and diversions.
“We are doing all possible to minimise the disruption for our customers, including providing hotel rooms and meals for those passengers affected by the cancellations. Customers on cancelled flights have been provided the option of a free transfer to an alternative flight or a refund. While this is outside of our control, we would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused as a result of the weather.”
Cancellations are expected for the rest of the day and into tomorrow. There may also be additional disruption caused by freezing fog.
Three boys dead after ice lake plunge
Three boys aged eight, ten and eleven have died in hospital after being pulled from a freezing lake in the West Midlands yesterday (John Reynolds writes).
Police confirmed the boys died after falling into the lake at Babbs Mill Park in Solihull.
“The boys, aged eleven, ten and eight, were rushed to hospital after being pulled from the water,” West Midlands police said.
“Sadly, they could not be revived and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this deeply devastating time. We’ll have specialist officers offering them as much support as we can.”
A six-year-old boy remains in a critical condition and a search is under way to see whether anyone else fell into the water.
Motorway network begins to reopen
All motorways in the southeast and east of England are now open after heavy snow overnight caused significant disruption on the network.
The M25 in Hertfordshire between junctions 23 and 25 reopened this morning after being shut for several hours because of snow and jack-knifed lorries.
Other routes that were temporarily forced to close or suffered heavy delays included the M11, M2, M20, A21 and A249. They are also now operating as normal.
National Highways said that up to 25 gritters were working on the M25 at any one time last night, spreading 960 tonnes of salt and more than 18,000 litres of antifreeze. Up to 15cm of snow fell in some areas.
The organisation, which operates and maintains the large motorways and A-roads in England, is still urging motorists to drive with care because of icy conditions.
Stewart Turner, network operations manager for the east region, said: “The motorway network is now open and traffic is moving after a challenging night. Our crews have been working hard to return the network to normal and we would like to thank everyone for their efforts to get our roads moving again.
“However, we would still urge drivers to take extra care when heading out today. Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice remain in place across large parts of the southeast and east for the remainder of today and into Tuesday.”
The agency added that the delays reported earlier on the M25 in Hertfordshire, in the clockwise direction, had now eased, but that delays of 90 minutes, with 11 miles of congestion, remained for the anticlockwise direction.
Dozens forced to take refuge in pub
More than 40 people had to sleep in a pub overnight after the heavy snow forced them to abandon their cars (Ben Clatworthy writes).
The Bear Inn near Burwash in East Sussex opened its doors to the motorists, providing hot drinks and mattresses for children. The pub’s owners fired up the log burner in a scene that those stranded described as “biblical”.
Dr Alexandra Loske, who spent the night at the pub, said: “Many [people are] sleeping on the floor tonight but we are all happy.”
Loske, a curator at Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, said she abandoned her car on the A265 at 5pm on Sunday evening. She told BBC Radio Sussex: “Conditions were still really treacherous. Then we figured out the Bear Inn were taking in waifs and strays and stranded people.
“It was a long night and quite scary but we made so many good friends and met so many lovely and kind people. We are safe and warm. It was absolutely amazing; log fires going, open arms, free food, free hot drinks — they put us all up.”
Tom Buckley from Bexhill also found refuge in the pub. He said: “I got stuck on a hill just outside Burwash, got towed up the hill and dug out by the local vicar, who was a hero.
“He offered us a place to stay [but] we went to the Bear Inn, who gave us a room. Every room was full, people sleeping in the bar. Those people couldn’t be any nicer.”
Snow days are a thing of the past thanks to pandemic
Snow days are over. Children up and down the country will never know the joy of waiting to find out if their school is closed for the day, with students now told to work online.
Schools across the south and southeast are closed altogether or opening late today, although many pupils are being sent work to do electronically.
Head teachers have previously said that the unexpected boon of a day spent sledging and building snowmen (for children) and the extra headache of childcare for working parents are unlikely to ever return.
Two periods of school closures during the Covid lockdowns forced much learning online and many schools now set schoolwork and homework via platforms such as Google Classroom. This can also be used if schools are physically closed because of poor weather.
Big chill will last for days
The weather is set to remain bitterly cold in the coming days, with the threat of more snow and freezing fog (Ben Clatworthy writes).
While overnight sleet and snow will gradually ease in southeast England throughout today, wintry showers in the north and east will remain persistent.
Tonight the forecast is for wintry showers continuing across the north and near some eastern coasts, according to the Met Office. Elsewhere it will be dry, with a hard frost and freezing fog likely becoming dense and widespread, causing further transport disruption.
A Met Office yellow weather warning for ice is in force until 11am on Tuesday, covering large parts of the southeast and east.
A further warning for snow and ice is active from noon tomorrow until lunchtime on Thursday, covering northern Scotland and the far northeast of England.
It will stay bitterly cold tomorrow, with frost and fog lingering into the day, with more airport disruption likely.
The weather for the rest of the week is largely stable, often bright, but remaining very cold with frost and fog overnight. There will be an increasing threat of rain and snow towards the end of the week.
Good morning
Welcome to The Times’s live coverage of disruption caused by the severe weather, with many flights and trains cancelled and schools closed.
