Parts of Britain were braced for more snow, sleet and hail today as the winter cold snap continues to bite.

Northern areas were due to be the worst affected, but snow is also expected to reach Shropshire this week with severe weather warnings in place for much of the north of the country and as far south as the West Midlands. Temperatures in parts of Shropshire are expected to fall.

They are expected to be as low as -1C (30.2F) by Friday night and the county is expected to be hit by snow at the end of the week.

Nationally, Arctic blizzards of up to 80mph are set to batter northern parts of the UK over the next few days, with significant levels of snowfall expected.

And in addition to Scotland the Met Office has also issued severe weather warnings for Northern Ireland and much of northern England in addition to the West Midlands.

Lindsay Dovey, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: “In western Scotland and north-west England there will be snow over the high ground, and sleet and hail at low levels.

“Gusts of wind up to 60mph are expected across western parts of northern England, and temperatures will range from 1C (33.8F) in Scotland to 11 (51.8F) in the south of Britain.”

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Scotland, with the heaviest snow forecast in the north and north west regions.
Orkney and Shetland will also face gale force winds.

Motorists across the UK were warned to take care as icy conditions made driving treacherous in northern areas yesterday.

The M8 was closed westbound at junction six because of a jack-knifed HGV and diesel on the road.

The A77 northbound was closed at the B7038 Kilmarnock junction because of an accident .

Warnings were also issued for high winds on the Skye Bridge, icy conditions on the B833 and freezing conditions on the A83 at Tarbert.

The first bout of wintry weather left schools and airports closed in Scotland.

In the north of England, icy conditions were believed to have led to the death of a lorry driver on the A160 in north Lincolnshire.