The UK cold snap is expected to worsen for many on Thursday, with more snow predicted across large parts, bringing the threat of power cuts and travel delays.
The heaviest snowfall is expected in northern and central England, where up to 40cm (15 inches) could hit an area stretching from Durham down to Stoke-on-Trent.
Motorists are being urged to plan ahead for any disruption to their journeys, following several alerts for snow and ice across the UK from the Met Office.
Overnight into Wednesday marked the coldest night of the year so far, and more sub-zero overnight temperatures are expected in all four UK nations in the coming days.
And the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has placed all regions of England under a level 3 cold weather alert – lasting until midnight on Thursday.
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Under a Met Office amber weather warning which comes into force at 3pm on Thursday and lasts for 21 hours until midday on Friday, there is likely to be “significant disruption” to transport, power lines and mobile phone network coverage, with heavy snow, strong easterly winds and blizzards predicted.
The alert affects Derbyshire, Durham, Cheshire East, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Staffordshire, along with North, South and West Yorkshire.
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The Met Office said: “Snow is expected to develop over northern England on Thursday morning, becoming persistent through the afternoon and overnight into early Friday morning before slowly easing.
“Residual impacts from snowfall are expected to persist through Friday morning. 10-20cm of snow is expected to fall quite widely, with some places seeing 30-40cm.
“Strong easterly winds are expected to accompany this snow, leading to blizzards and drifting of lying snow.”
Milder yellow warnings for snow have also been issued, covering much of the nation from Wednesday to Friday.
One of them will be in effect from 7am on Thursday until 2pm on Friday and covers all of the UK north of Birmingham.
The Met Office said: “An area of low pressure will move across the UK on Thursday and Friday with snow developing across Wales and central England early on Thursday morning.
“This is expected to move slowly north during the day, becoming slow-moving across north Wales, northern England, Northern Ireland and southern Scotland during the afternoon and evening before slowly clearing southeast on Friday.”
Yellow warnings for snow and ice until 7am on Thursday cover central and southern areas of England and Wales as well as northeast England and southeast Scotland.
A further yellow warning for snow and ice is in place for northern Scotland until 10am on Thursday.
Temperatures at Kinbrace in the Highlands dropped to this year’s low of -15.4C overnight into Wednesday.
Met Office spokesperson Nicola Maxey said this was the coldest March temperature recorded since 2010, but that it is “not that unusual to see snow in March”.
“March is a transition month from winter into spring,” she said. “Statistically, you’re more likely to see snow in March than in December.”
The Royal Liverpool University Hospital has declared a critical incident due to “exceptionally high” demand on A&E and patients being admitted to wards.
The hospital said there had been a spike in people with flu and respiratory illnesses going to emergency departments in recent weeks.
A spokesperson for the hospital said it had a “comprehensive plan in place” and was “taking all the necessary actions to manage the challenging circumstances”.
“We are working with partner organisations to ensure those that are medically fit can leave hospital safely and at the earliest opportunity,” they added.
The hospital warned some people would experience delays as it prioritises the sickest patients.
People whose case isn’t an emergency are being asked to see their GP, pharmacy or walk-in centre – or call the 111 service for advice.
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The Royal Liverpool University Hospital is in the city centre and is the biggest hospital in Merseyside and Cheshire.
Declaring a critical incident can happen when a hospital is experiencing exceptional demand, or sometimes if there is a serious problem with staffing levels.
It indicates it can’t function as normal and allows it to take extra measures to protect patients, such as prioritising the most unwell people and getting support from other agencies.
It could last hours, a few days, or weeks if necessary.
A critical incident was also declared on Friday by the NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board.
It said it had seen almost four times as many inpatients compared with last year and urged people with flu to avoid going to A&E.
Zendaya and Tom Holland are rumoured to be engaged after the 28-year-old actress appeared at the Golden Globes wearing a massive diamond ring on her left ring finger.
They met after working together on 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and confirmed their relationship in 2021.
Sky News has contacted representatives for Zendaya and Holland for comment.
Zendaya chatted to journalists on the Globes red carpet, where she was nominated for best actress in a musical or comedy for her role in the romantic sports drama Challengers.
Despite being pipped to the prize by Demi Moore, who won for her role in body horror The Substance, there was plenty of buzz around Zendaya’s large diamond ring, which was clearly visible throughout the show.
A Los Angeles Times reporter appeared to ask Zendaya about it, holding up her own engagement ring and pointing to it. Zendaya responded by showing her left-hand ring.
The reporter then asked if the actor was engaged and “she kept showing her ring, smiled coyly and shrugged her shoulders mysteriously”.
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Holland, who is also 28, wasn’t at Sunday’s Globes.
Zendaya wore an orange Louis Vuitton ball gown, and diamond jewellery from Bulgari – for which she’s an ambassador – on the Globes red carpet.
But while the Dune star’s other jewellery items were listed in a press release, there was no mention of the ring on her left finger.
Zendaya, who rose to fame after her breakout role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, became a household star after starring in Euphoria.
Tom Holland, who is the son of British actor/comedian Dominic Holland, won a role in Billy Elliot The Musical as a child, and has gone on to achieve global fame playing Spider-Man in six Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.