By Nigel Bunyan, Richard Savill, Auslan Cramb
Last Updated: 12:17PM GMT 03 Feb 2009
Heavy snow has fallen in some places, particularly the south east, but left other places almost entirely untouched. Here is a region by region breakdown of how the UK was affected.
NORTH WEST
Snowfalls were causing problems across the region, with hundreds of schools closed and motorists struggling on minor roads.
The trans-Pennine routes into Yorkshire were the worst affected, with police and motoring organisations reporting treacherous driving conditions on the M62. (My area - TBT)
Several inches of snow fell in Carlisle, while on the A69 near Haltwistle, Cumbria, several lorries became stranded after failing to negotiate Greenhead Bank.
Another major trans-Pennine route, the A66, was closed for a time between the A1 at Scotch Corner and the A685 on the Cumbrian border.
Cumbria County Council said 123 of its schools had remained closed, while in Lancashire 35 primary and secondary schools failed to open.
In Greater Manchester two schools were closed in Bury and one each in Salford and Rochdale.
5 worst-affected roads:
A66 Cumbria. Trans-Pennine route closed between Scotch Corner and the A685.
M62 between Manchester and Leeds
M60, M66 and M602 in Greater Manchester M6 in Cheshire. One lane closed southbound.
M6 Cheshire. One lane closed southbound.
A483 Cheshire. Heavy traffic northbound.
Worst affected rail routes: Trans-Pennine
Airports: Manchester Airport and John Lennon Liverpool Airport operating normally.
NORTH EAST
County Durham and Northumberland are the worst affected, with 63 and 54 schools closed respectively. A further three primary schools in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, were also closed.
In North Yorkshire 54 schools were closed, with a further 30 closures in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
A total of 343 schools were closed in West Yorkshire. Pupils at 52 schools in Bradford were given the day off, while in Leeds 41 schools closed.
Three schools were closed in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and two each in Hull and York.
Snow has been hampering attempts to restore electricity to more than 2,000 homes in Rothbury, Northumberland, after an equipment failure.
Police have advised motorists not to travel unless their journeys were absolutely necessary. A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "If you have to go out then take care, and try to avoid using your car.
"We have had multiple accidents all over the county. There have been a lot of bumps and scratches and very slow journeys into work."
A motorist injured his arm after his vehicle skidded off the A19, while a bus overturned on the A173 at Newton-under-Roseberry near Great Ayton. No one was injured in the latter accident.
Snow in parts of County Durham was as deep as 20cm.
Paul Coppen, a farmer Bowes, County Durham, said: "It's virtually impassable up here. We have got between six and seven inches lying on the ground and its drifting. The police have closed the A66 between Scotch Corner and Cumbria and it has been closed all night.
"I was going to try and get out with the tractor today, but I have got no chance."
The picturesque village of Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, was under six inches of snow.
Carol Mitchell, the village postmistress, said: "The kids are having a whale of a time. There are lots of snowmen and lots of snowballs being thrown."
5 worst affected roads:
A62 Wakefield
A1 (M) Leeds
A1 (M) County Durham
A19 Sunderland
A1 North Yorkshire
5 worst affected rail routes: Trans-Pennine
Airports:
Leeds Bradford Airport - Flights cancelled and delayed.
Newcastle Airport - Flights delayed and cancelled because of disruption at Heathrow.
SOUTH EAST
Heavy snowfalls cause major disruption
Roads:
M25 Surrey – Four lanes closed clockwise and anti-clockwise with jack-knifed lorries
M20 Kent Road closed between junction nine at Ashford and junction eight at Leeds Castle
M3 Hampshire. Traffic down to one lane, northbound. Heavy traffic due to snow in Winchester
A3 Surrey. Accident southbound. Three lanes closed.
A27 Brighton and Hove Road closed westbound and eastbound due to jack-knifed lorries
Rail:
Eurostar trains delayed due to unavailability of staff
Southeastern – all services into London cancelled after heavy snow overnight in Kent and Sussex
Brighton mainline services reduced to two trains per hour between London Victoria and Brighton
Closed stations: Merstham, Coulsdon South Salfords, Earlswood, Horley
Airports:
Heathrow both runways closed. British Airways cancels long and short haul flights until 5pm
London City Airport closed
Luton Airport closed
Southampton flights suspended
Gatwick flights Cancelled and delayed flights
Schools:
Kent more than 50 primary and secondary schools closed
Essex 400 schools closed
West and East Sussex 155 schools closed
Surrey all schools closed
SOUTH WEST
Some disruption but not as severe as the south east
Roads:
A35 Dorset Road closed eastbound with accident and heavy traffic
A338 Dorset spur road closed in both directions due to snow
M5 Gloucestershire. Closed near Tewkesbury after multi vehicle pile-up
Rail:
First Great Western Trains from south west and south Wales end at Reading. Limited service to London Paddington.
Airports:
Bristol International Airport took flights diverted from Stansted and Bournemouth, where heavy snowfall covered the runways.
Inbound flights to Bristol affected by snow at departure locations in Brussels, Paris and Newcastle.
Schools:
Gloucestershire 22 schools closed
Dorset 71 schools closed
WALES
Hazardous roads and some schools closed.
Roads:
Hazardous driving conditions on the A48 at Carmarthen.
Disruption on the A55 in north Wales.
Schools: 50 closed
SCOTLAND
Heavy snowfalls in the south of Scotland led to the closure of 29 schools in Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders.
There were also widespread flight delays at Scottish airports, largely due to problems in the south east of England.
BAA Scotland said eight flights to London airports from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports were cancelled because of snow in England.
Traffic Scotland issued a heavy snowfall warning across the country but said traffic was moving freely in most areas.
The M74 between Carlisle and Gretna was affected by snow and there was congestion on the M77 in Ayrshire after accidents caused tailbacks. Stretches of the A96 in north-east Scotland were also causing concern.
With the snow moving north through the country, the Met Office had weather warnings in place for Grampian, Strathclyde, Central, Tayside and Fife as well as south-west Scotland, Lothian and the Borders.
Most of the 18 schools closed in Dumfries and Galloway were in the eastern part of the region while 11 primary schools were shut in the Borders.
MIDLANDS
Hundreds of schools in the West Midlands and Staffordshire were closed because of the snow and a teenage boy was treated for hypothermia after falling into a freezing lake in Worcestershire.
Paramedics arrived at the Arrow Valley Country Park in Redditch just after 3am and found the 17-year-old by the side of the lake. His friends phoned the emergency services but were unable to help him.
West Midlands Ambulance Service said he was believed to have been in the water for about 15 minutes. He was treated at the scene for hypothermia and taken to the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch.
Two hundred schools were closed in Leicestershire and Rutland, while 50 schools were shut for the day in Birmingham and the Black Country.
Flights were diverted, there were delays on the roads, and bin collections were cancelled in Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Walsall because council chiefs said it was too dangerous to take out heavy refuse trucks on snow-covered roads.
Birmingham Airport remained open as normal but some passengers faced delays as around 20 flights from Stansted, Luton and Gatwick were diverted into the city.
EAST ANGLIA
Schools across East Anglia were closed, with more than 200 Suffolk schools shut for the day. Royal Mail officials decided it was too dangerous for postmen to deliver mail, and normal refuse collection schedules were scrapped. Motorists were advised not to travel in the region unless absolutely necessary.
Schools
Two hundred schools closed in Suffolk.
Airport
Norwich airport closed at 6am but reopened at 9am.
In the past we've gone out when theres been a foot of snow, the next few days will be the worst with everything freezing over.