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16 December 2010
Last updated at 23:37 ET
Temperatures plummeted overnight across the UK with widespread ice forecast to cause dangerous driving conditions.
Heavy snow showers and high winds produced blizzards across large parts of northern Scotland.
BBC weather forecaster Daniel Corbett said snow and ice would be a problem for the morning, with more snow to follow through the weekend.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for widespread icy roads for almost all the UK.
There are also heavy snow warnings for Orkney and Shetland, Highlands and Outer Hebrides, Grampian, Northern Ireland, Wales and South West England.
Temperatures are likely to struggle to get above freezing across most of the UK on Friday.
Flights cancelled Several major roads have been blocked in northern Scotland and police in the Highlands are advising against all travel.
There was a battle to keep major routes open with lorries causing problems south of Inverness on the A82 and the A9. Further north the A9 was closed by snow between Thurso and Brora.
Heavy snow showers have also affected north-east Scotland. Traffic in Aberdeen was at a standstill for much of the evening while the runway at the city's airport was closed in the afternoon and early evening.
Several flights were cancelled and an airport spokesman said the disruption would continue to be felt on Friday morning.
New Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown visited the Traffic Scotland control centre in Glasgow for an update on the situation across the country.
Mr Brown insisted Scotland was "very well prepared" and the authorities were doing all they could to keep trunk roads open.
His predecessor Stewart Stevenson resigned after his department was criticised for its handling of the problems caused by the previous bout of severe weather.
'Very serious' The BBC has been contacted by people in the Aberdeen area who have reported atrocious road conditions.
Motorist Kirsty McCullough said: "It took me nearly fours hours to do a four-mile round-trip. It's absolutely awful, the roads are sheet ice. They've not been gritted at all."
At Westminster, Energy Minister Charles Hendry has warned that more heavy snow over Christmas could lead to "very serious" shortages of domestic heating oil.
Motoring organisation the AA said it had extra patrols on stand-by, while Network Rail said it had "snow teams in place" and would be "keeping equipment in strategic locations".
Meanwhile, bookmakers have slashed the odds of a white Christmas.
Heavy snowfall during the past few weeks has caused huge disruption, especially in Scotland and north-east England.
Airports, roads and schools were closed, and companies are now warning of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas.
Are you affected by the snowy conditions? Are you waiting for parcels or online orders? Are you a business? Contact us using the form below
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
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Heavy snow showers and high winds produced blizzards across large parts of northern Scotland.
BBC weather forecaster Daniel Corbett said snow and ice would be a problem for the morning, with more snow to follow through the weekend.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for widespread icy roads for almost all the UK.
There are also heavy snow warnings for Orkney and Shetland, Highlands and Outer Hebrides, Grampian, Northern Ireland, Wales and South West England.
Temperatures are likely to struggle to get above freezing across most of the UK on Friday.
Flights cancelled Several major roads have been blocked in northern Scotland and police in the Highlands are advising against all travel.
There was a battle to keep major routes open with lorries causing problems south of Inverness on the A82 and the A9. Further north the A9 was closed by snow between Thurso and Brora.
Heavy snow showers have also affected north-east Scotland. Traffic in Aberdeen was at a standstill for much of the evening while the runway at the city's airport was closed in the afternoon and early evening.
Several flights were cancelled and an airport spokesman said the disruption would continue to be felt on Friday morning.
New Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown visited the Traffic Scotland control centre in Glasgow for an update on the situation across the country.
Mr Brown insisted Scotland was "very well prepared" and the authorities were doing all they could to keep trunk roads open.
His predecessor Stewart Stevenson resigned after his department was criticised for its handling of the problems caused by the previous bout of severe weather.
'Very serious' The BBC has been contacted by people in the Aberdeen area who have reported atrocious road conditions.
Motorist Kirsty McCullough said: "It took me nearly fours hours to do a four-mile round-trip. It's absolutely awful, the roads are sheet ice. They've not been gritted at all."
At Westminster, Energy Minister Charles Hendry has warned that more heavy snow over Christmas could lead to "very serious" shortages of domestic heating oil.
Motoring organisation the AA said it had extra patrols on stand-by, while Network Rail said it had "snow teams in place" and would be "keeping equipment in strategic locations".
Meanwhile, bookmakers have slashed the odds of a white Christmas.
Heavy snowfall during the past few weeks has caused huge disruption, especially in Scotland and north-east England.
Airports, roads and schools were closed, and companies are now warning of a backlog of deliveries which may not reach customers before Christmas.
Are you affected by the snowy conditions? Are you waiting for parcels or online orders? Are you a business? Contact us using the form below
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7725 100 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions
Powered by WizardRSS | Work At Home Jobs