By 9am, certain areas of Aberdeenshire and the Highlands were expecting to find themselves under as much as 18 inches of snow - the heaviest accumulation anywhere in the UK. English regions will see significantly less, with the most affected areas in the North West facing up to 6 inches.

Weather warnings are in place for various parts of the UK until Monday, with the heaviest snowfall expected to hit Scotland.

Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong described Storm Goretti as a "multi-hazard event" with heavy rain, strong winds and snow. He said 5-10cm of snow is likely widely in Wales and the Midlands, with 15-25cm and a potential for up to 30cm in some areas.

The UKHSA has updated its alerts to include the North East and North West of England as cold northerly winds are expected to cause more chaos as they sweep across the whole UK in the first week of Jan

Most of the UK is covered by weather warnings, leading to the risk of travel disruption, as the RAC warns that it expects Monday to be the worst day of the year for vehicle breakdowns.

Storm Goretti has hit the UK with 99mph winds and heavy snow as part of a “weather bomb”, with yellow and amber weather warnings to continue throughout Friday. The Met Office updated an amber wind warning for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to red between 4pm and 11pm on Thursday,

Hundreds of schools have announced they are closing due to snow and ice to protect students and parents following a series of Met Office weather warnings across the UK

An Arctic blitz of snow, sleet and hail showers has brought freezing temperatures to the UK, with -12.5C recorded last night, the coldest of winter so far. A storm that is set to hit the country on Thursday has been named.