Aerial video showed vehicles completely buried under snow drifts in Cumbria


Snow and sleet have disrupted transport and power supplies as severe wintry weather continues in much of the UK.

A number of roads and airports have closed, with many of the weekend's sporting fixtures affected too.

A Met Office warning for snow covers Northern Ireland, much of England, northern Wales and south-west Scotland.

Motorists were trapped in their cars overnight in Dumfries and Galloway and 35,000 homes in Northern Ireland are without electricity.

It follows snowfalls across parts of the UK on Friday which also led to the closure of hundreds of schools.

The continuing wintry weather sees snow falling across central and northern parts of the country and spreading to the South and South East of England on Saturday.

Motorists across much of the UK have been advised to exercise caution.

Road closures have occurred in much of the country. Meanwhile, drivers in some areas have been left stranded after roads have become impassable.

In Belfast, more than 200,000 electricity customers were affected by a blackout on Friday.

Northern Ireland Electricity said that at one stage the blackout swept across the whole of Belfast after an issue with the high voltage transmission network.

All but about 35,000 properties had had power restored by late evening, it added.

The Scottish government says that 18,000 properties remain without power, with blocked roads, high winds and blizzards hampering the repair effort.

And about 4,000 homes in north Wales are without electricity after heavy snow.

In other developments across the UK: The prolonged cold snap has sparked fears that the UK will run out of stored gas.

However, the National Grid has said there is "plenty of gas available", and the Department of Energy and Climate Change has said gas needs are being met.

For Saturday, the Met Office warned that there was "continued risk of significant disruption" from snow.

Scenes of snow and travel disruption around the UK


Its yellow "be aware" warning covered many central parts of the UK and involved a slow-moving band of rain, sleet and snow.

It said further significant snowfall was likely to accumulate on hills, with continued drifting and blizzard conditions in strong south-easterly winds.

At lower levels, some areas could see a further 5-10cm (2in to 4in) of snow, though exact locations remained "very uncertain at this stage", it said.

The BBC Weather Centre said that sleet and snowfall was expected to diminish gradually during Saturday, leading to a predominantly dry Sunday.

But it warned that the cold winds were expected to continue, and that temperatures would struggle to get above freezing across many central areas.

Next week would generally see drier and brighter conditions, but it was expected to remain very cold and some snow showers were likely, the forecast said.