8 December 2010 Last updated at 09:20

Temperatures drop again as roads and schools hit

Police in central Scotland advised motorists to only make essential journeys

Frozen Britain

Temperatures dropped far below freezing overnight to bring more chaos to roads and threaten prolonged school closures.

The Met Office is warning of heavy snow in Northern Ireland, north east Scotland, Yorkshire and the Humber and has issued numerous icy road alerts.

Hundreds of cars were stranded for a second night in Scotland, and the Army may be used to clear Edinburgh streets.

More school closures are expected after 1,600 UK-wide on Tuesday. Temperatures hit -18C (0F) in Perthshire overnight.

BBC weather forecaster Nick Miller said it would be a cold and icy start to Wednesday, especially where there had been recent snow, and temperatures would again struggle to get above freezing in many places.

There are still many problems on the roads, particularly in Scotland's central belt where Transport Scotland is again advising against all but "absolutely essential" travel.

The agency said "significant" overnight progress had been made towards reopening weather-affected parts of the network, but that the westbound M8 between Edinburgh and Harthill remained closed.

Meanwhile, the A171 near Whitby, North Yorkshire, is "passable with care" after more than 100 vehicles had to be rescued in a joint operation between police and snow ploughs.

Met Office severe weather warnings for icy roads are in place for all of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and most eastern areas of England
On the railways, there is widespread disruption - including many cancellations - throughout Scotland
East Coast is operating reduced services, while some local services in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and north-east England have been cancelled
Travellers at airports including Glasgow and Edinburgh and Belfast International are advised to check flight times with airlines
Edinburgh Council says it is in talks over drafting in the Army to clear the streets of snow and ice

WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO

Scotland's Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson has apologised for the situation on the M8, where hundreds of drivers became stranded overnight on Monday, and is expected to make a statement to MSPs later.

Police have said people who had abandoned vehicles should not return to them unless advised to do so.

Some vehicles have been removed already and officers are contacting owners to tell them how to get them back.

The AA said it had responded to 13,500 call-outs by 1500 GMT on Tuesday and had dealt with more than 230,000 incidents since the first widespread snow on 24 November - a 93% increase on the same period last year.

The RAC said breakdowns were 50% more numerous than normal.

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