Weather warnings for snow and ice are in force across much of the UK with hundreds of flood alerts in place.
A yellow snow and ice warning is in place across most of southwest England and Wales, coastal parts of North Wales and Merseyside, and parts of northwest England and the West Midlands until 10am.
The Met Office has also issued a warning for Northern Ireland which expires at 11am and another for parts of southwestern, western and northern areas of Scotland until midday.
Hundreds of flood alerts and warnings are in place and both Leicestershire and Lincolnshire declared major incidents on Monday because of the extreme weather.
Roads, railways and airports hit
Travel is being affected by flooding and fallen trees causing problems on the railways along with snow also impacting some major A roads.
Meanwhile Liverpool John Lennon Airport estimates its runway will reopen at 10am after snow clearance and anti-icing. Aberdeen Airport has also paused flights due to “freezing conditions”.
Bristol and Manchester airports have now reopened their runways after suspending flights because of snow.
Snow covered parts of Manchester on Wednesday morning. Pic: Reuters
A caravan park was flooded in Yalding, Kent, on Monday. Pic: PA
Police in North Yorkshire are investigating the discovery of a man’s body, which was recovered from an area of flooding near Intake Lane in Beal, close to Eggborough and Knottingley.
The man has been “informally identified” by officers but it is unclear how he died.
Police discovered the body near Intake Lane in Beal. Pic: North Yorkshire Police
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue was the first emergency service in England to declare an incident.
It said it had received more than 200 calls since Monday morning over widespread flooding.
Schoolchildren rescued
It rescued 59 people on Monday, while authorities in Lincolnshire warned conditions could deteriorate overnight as lying water freezes.
The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum declared a major incident shortly after, and noted that emergency services had rescued children who were stranded at a school in Edenham.
The group said 45 pupils were “safely evacuated” thanks to firefighters and volunteers.
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Local hero saves driver from flood
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said in a post on X: “Major incidents have been declared in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire due to severe flooding.
“My thoughts are with all those affected and my thanks to responders working hard to keep communities safe.
“Anyone in these areas should follow advice from the emergency services.”
Flood alerts and warnings
There are currently around 180 flood warnings across England, with one severe flood warning for part of the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar in Leicestershire requiring a “large-scale” evacuation of caravan parks.
There are also about 250 flood alerts in place, which are less serious than flood warnings.
In Wales, 14 flood alerts are in place.
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Ducks swim through frozen lake as snow covers Ilkley.
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A fresh yellow warning for snow begins at 9am on Wednesday. Pic: Met Office
On Wednesday, a yellow weather warning for snow is in effect across the south of England – stretching from just above Truro in Cornwall to Canterbury in Kent – from 9am to midnight.
Separately Ireland’s weather service, Met Eireann, has issued an orange warning – the second highest alert level – for “extremely cold” temperatures.
It is forecasting “widespread severe frost, ice and lying snow” for most counties between 8pm on Tuesday until 10am on Wednesday.