BBC Weekend March 23/24

Snow, sleet and rain have disrupted transport and power supplies as wintry weather continues in much of the UK.

A number of roads and airports have closed, with many of the weekend’s sporting fixtures affected too.

A Met Office warning for snow covers Northern Ireland, much of England, northern Wales and south-west Scotland.

Motorists were trapped in their cars overnight in Dumfries and Galloway and 35,000 homes in Northern Ireland are without electricity.

It follows snowfalls across parts of the UK on Friday which also led to the closure of hundreds of schools.

The continuing wintry weather sees snow falling across central and northern parts of the country and spreading to the South and South East of England on Saturday.

Motorists across much of the UK have been advised to exercise caution.

Road closures have occurred in much of the country. Meanwhile, drivers in some areas have been left stranded after roads have become impassable.

Click on Each Photo to Enlarge

In Belfast, more than 200,000 electricity customers were affected by a blackout.

Northern Ireland Electricity said that at one stage the blackout swept across the whole of Belfast after an issue with the high voltage transmission network.

All but about 35,000 properties had had power restored by late evening, it added.

By late on Friday, power companies said a total of 14,000 customers in Scotland were left without power.

And more than 3,000 homes in north Wales are without power.

There have been a number of developments across the UK.

Police said motorists should avoid travelling by road in the Dumfries and Galloway area, where many people have been stuck in their cars overnight, because conditions were “extremely dangerous”

Search and rescue teams led stranded motorists to safety in Cumbria overnight after deep snowdrifts made roads impassable

Residents of Arran have been warned that they may be without power for up to three days, prompting Scottish Hydro to send a portable generator to the island

Snow across the UK has disrupted the weekend’s sporting schedule

In Staffordshire, overnight snow and high winds brought down trees and closing   roads, as well as forcing the closure of Alton Towers and Drayton Manor theme parks

Flights are currently not operating at Leeds Bradford airport – passengers are advised to check with their airline or tour operator before arriving at the airport

All flights at Humberside Airport have been cancelled due to snow. East Midlands Airport runway has now reopened

Tributes have been paid to a woman who died when her home collapsed after a landslip at Looe, Cornwall, caused by torrential rain

The prolonged cold snap has sparked fears that the UK will run out of stored gas.

However, the National Grid has said there is “plenty of gas available”, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change has said gas needs are being met.

For Saturday, the Met Office warned that there was “continued risk of significant disruption” from snow.

Scenes of snow and travel disruption around the UK

Its yellow “be aware” warning covered many central parts of the UK and involved a slow-moving band of rain, sleet and snow.

It said further significant snowfall was likely to accumulate on hills, with continued drifting and blizzard conditions in strong south-easterly winds.

At lower levels, some areas could see a further 5-10cm (2in to 4in) of snow, though exact locations remained “very uncertain at this stage”, it said.

The BBC Weather Centre said that sleet and snowfall was expected to diminish gradually during Saturday, leading to a predominantly dry Sunday.

But it warned that the cold winds were expected to continue, and that temperatures would struggle to get above freezing across many central areas.

Next week would generally see drier and brighter conditions, but it was expected to remain very cold and some snow showers were likely, the forecast said.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21907837