Britons face a hellish commute to work this morning after snow fell over large swathes of the country threatening to cause travel chaos.
Met Office forecasters warned of up to four inches of snow from the Shetland Islands down to Nottingham and across to Belfast overnight.
In the early hours of this morning the snowfall was even wider, with severe warnings reaching London, the south east and Wales and lasting until midday.
People across the country woke up to their cars, gardens and entire streets covered in a carpet of white, with workers taking to social media to bemoan travel conditions.
Greater Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, the Cotswolds and the Chiltern Hills were the worst-hit by snow in England this morning, while Glasgow got a considerable covering in Scotland and County Antrim in Northern Ireland.
It comes after unprecedented rainfall caused flood defences to buckle along the River Severn, with Britain already experiencing 200 per cent of its normal February rainfall, with four more days of the month set to go.
Snow is pictured blanketing fields in Wardlow, Derbyshire yesterday, amid yellow weather warnings for snow and ice across the country
There was also snow around Pen y Fan mountain in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, yesterday
High ground will experience up to four inches of snow, with some parts of Wales (Brecon Beacon National Park pictured) already covered from yesterday
The Met Office has a yellow weather warning in place for snow and ice today from the Shetland Islands in the north, Northern Ireland in the west and London in the south. The warnings (pictured left) are in place until between 10am and 12pm on Thursday. On Friday snow and sleet will turn to rain for parts of northern England and Wales, with a yellow rain warning in place from 12am on Friday to 9am (pictured right)
Earlier this month vulnerable riverside communities in Wales, West Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Herefordshire had to battle two storms in a week.
Residents were evacuated from the Ironbridge Gore yesterday after flood defences were unable to cope with further rainfall.
A Met Office graphic shows the areas most affected by snow as Britain wakes up on Thursday
Paul Gundersen, Chief Meteorologist Met Office meteorologist said of the snow: ‘The flow of cold air over the UK will lead to heavy, wintry showers and icy conditions overnight.
‘From 10pm Wednesday until 10am on Thursday there is a Met Office Yellow warning for snow & ice for most of the UK north of a line from the central Wales to the Wash, except north-east England and eastern Scotland.
‘A low-pressure system moving in to the South West from the Atlantic overnight will bring a further period of rain to southern England.
‘As this system encounters the cold air further north over the UK, there is a risk of snow along this boundary and we have issued a Yellow warning north of the M4 corridor from central Wales, parts of the Midlands and East Anglia.
‘Snowfall up to 5cm (two inches) is possible over higher ground in South Wales, with 1-3cm (0.3 to one inch) possible over the Cotswolds and the Chilterns.
‘It is possible that rain may briefly turn to sleet or snow over lower ground across the Midlands, East Anglia and areas north of London, although accumulations here are likely to be small.’
Rain, sleet and snow will quickly clear eastwards by late morning and any snow at lower levels will soon thaw.
A herd of sheep are pictured being fed by their freezing-cold farmer in Wardlow, Derbyshire yesterday morning, where snow has already hit high ground
On Friday and Saturday the forecast remains distinctly unsettled with Yellow rain warnings in force for most of Wales and parts of northern England.
Mr Gundersen added: ‘Within these warning areas 40-60mm of rain is possible on the highest ground with 15-30mm likely more widely. This could bring further flooding impacts to already-affected communities and catchments.’
Caroline Douglass, Director of Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said of the flooding: ‘Flooding has a long lasting and devastating impact on people’s lives, and we offer our heartfelt sympathies to all who have been flooded and continue to be affected by the persistent wet weather.
‘We have seen our third weekend of exceptional river levels and stormy weather, continuing into this week; with the effects of climate change, we need to prepare for more frequent periods of extreme weather like this.
‘People need to be aware of their flood risk, sign up to flood warnings, make a flood plan and not to drive or walk through flood water.’
Fields in Derbsyhire are pictured blanketed with snow after flakes fell over the Peak District overnight on Tuesday