More snow on way as Wales, Midlands freeze

The Met office said the severe weather is likely to persist into Wednesday with more snow and sleet expected in many areas.

Forecasters in Wales and central England said snow would be heavy at times with snow drifts likely amid strong easterly winds, leading to blizzard conditions in the Welsh hills.

It warned power supplies and transport could be heavily affected.

The Met Office said 25-30 cm could build up on Welsh hills later on Tuesday, with between 5 and 10 cm falling across much of south Wales, Herefordshire and Shropshire.

It would be the heaviest snow to hit the area this year as a band of rain moving up from the south hits a mass of cold air lingering over the region.

Extreme weather warnings were also issued for northwest England, Yorkshire and Humber, the Midlands, east and southwest England.

Last week's snowfalls mainly affected eastern and southern England, bringing travel chaos to airports and roads.

Snow in the Scottish Highlands affected regional airports, with early flights cancelled at Inverness airport and delays occurring at Stornaway and Kirkwall.

Rail services into Glasgow Central station were also hit, with several trains cancelled.

Looking further ahead, the weather is expected to remain cool, with snow potentially falling on New Year revellers in Scotland on Thursday night and sleety showers coming down elsewhere.

(Reporting by Tim Castle and Stefano Ambrogi; Editing by Steve Addison)