Severe gales and snow showers are expected to bring travel disruption as gusts of more than 70mph battered parts of Britain overnight.
Drivers have been warned to only travel if necessary with delays likely on roads and trains.
Forecasters have issued yellow “be aware” wind warnings as gusts reached 78mph in Aberdaron in Wales on Wednesday night.
Meterologist Alex Burkill said: “It’s going to be a cold and blustery day with further showers especially in the north and west.
Very strong #winds are affecting East Anglia and southeast England this morning. Expect travel disruption and some power cuts. Stay #weatheraware #windy pic.twitter.com/edid7cD85F
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 18, 2018
“There is likely to be disruption to travel so before you had head out, it’s worth taking a look at the state of the roads you will be travelling on.
“There is a risk you could be held up and delayed and if you think that’s possible, make sure you have essentials with you such as coats, water and food in case you get held up for several hours.”
Several police and fire and rescue services forces, including Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Norfolk, Surrey, Gloucestershire and Cambridgeshire, reported fallen trees and urged people to take extra care.
BEWARE DRIVERS! ?? High winds ?across Derbyshire means that there’s lots of debris, including fallen trees that are causing obstructions on the roads. #StaySafe #DriveToArrive
— Derbyshire FRS (@DerbyshireFRS) January 18, 2018
Morning, it’s been a windy night and there are many trees and branches down across the county. Please take care on your journey this morning. #takecare
— RPU – Surrey Police (@SurreyRoadCops) January 18, 2018
Poor weather conditions are also affecting railways in the Midlands, with overhead electric wires damaged between Wolverhampton and Stafford.
Passengers are being warned to expect delays to and from Manchester Piccadilly, between Birmingham New Street and Crewe, through Birmingham New Street and between Birmingham New Street and Redditch.
#UKSnow – The overhead electric wires have also been damaged between Wolverhampton and Stafford. As a result, trains will be cancelled or revised.https://t.co/JUuIjm0YTq
— National Rail (@NRE_XC) January 18, 2018
A snow and ice warning in place for northern areas of Scotland will be extended to Northern Ireland and northern England, forecasters said.
During the night, temperatures dropped at low as -7C (19F) in Loch Glascarnoch while snowfalls continued to be topped up.
On Wednesday, persistent snow and ice caused treacherous driving conditions and brought the M74 in Scotland to a standstill, but Traffic Scotland said there were no significant incidents on the roads for rush hour traffic and traffic on the M74 was “coping well”.
Good morning. An icy start in the north after heavy overnight snow in places. Severe gales across eastern England, but winds easing through the day. Bright spells across the UK with wintry showers, most frequent and heavy in the north and west. https://t.co/jtrhUzUBdR ^Dan pic.twitter.com/zpX0p1H5lD
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 18, 2018
During the night, Police Scotland issued a “stage four” warning, advising drivers to avoid travelling on roads in areas covered by amber snow warnings.
This was later downgraded to stage three to warn motorists of a “high risk of disruption” during the morning.
