Search: Snow big freeze
More heavy snow swept into parts of Britain with no let-up in sight as the big freeze maintained its grip on the country.
In the coldest spell for more than 30 years, snow and ice took their toll on the UK again, with deaths from weather-related incidents since before Christmas rising to 25, travel disrupted and sports fixtures called off.
Forecasters said there was no significant early thaw in prospect, as temperatures fell overnight to minus 15C (5F) at Tulloch Bridge and Dalwhinnie in Scotland. Elsewhere around the UK they were solidly below freezing - minus 7C (19F) in Manchester, minus 6C (21F) in Cardiff and minus 2C (28F) in London.
The heaviest snowfallswere across Kent and East Sussex, to a depth of 4in (10cm). Kent Police said the military is on stand-by to help the situation if the weather in the county worsens.
Snow has been forecast in East Anglia and parts of southern England to a depth of 0.75in (2cm) - and double that in Essex. There will be snow in Wales and north west England, which could be 4in to 6in (10cm to 15cm) on higher ground.
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In some areas on Monday, temperatures might creep a little above freezing, bringing a hint of a thaw. "However, in some places there is a foot of snow on the ground, so it could take a week at that rate for it to disappear," said Brendan Jones, a senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association. "From Tuesday onwards there is a trend for slightly less cold weather, with milder air trying to come in from the south, but that could bring more snow, particularly across southern parts of England and Wales."
Some of the weekend's biggest sports events joined the growing list of weather-related casualties, while grit and gas supplies have been faltering and there has been further disruption to rail, road and air travel.
The vanishing stocks of grit are set to dwindle further. Emergency measures have already been put in place to reduce the 60,000 tonnes used by councils each day across the country. The Government has ordered salt from abroad but this is not due to arrive until January 21.
Train passengers experienced delays and cancellations on some routes, but the Association of Train Operating Companies said most operators had returned to a fuller service this weekend, with many running their normal weekend timetables.
Elsewhere, nearly 100 businesses have been forced to stop using gas by the National Grid in a bid to conserve supplies in the face of record demand.
