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Weird winter weather is tightening its grip

One minute it is raining, the next there are blue skies, then there is a snow blizzard outside.

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The yo-yo weather in Britain is continuing to tighten its grip on the country with a cold snap and heavy snowfalls forcing airports to halt flights, trains to be cancelled and schools to close.

And the situation is even worse abroad with a super storm dumping piles of snow on parts of America earlier this week.

Forecasters in the UK say the bitterly cold weather will last into at least the early part of next week, with temperatures falling as low as -1C (30F) in the Midlands and snow predicted, as the country shivers in cold blasts coming from Greenland and Iceland.

Holidaymakers looking to escape the wintry weather were left stranded at Manchester Airport after heavy snowfall forced a number of flights to be suspended yesterday. East Midlands Airport also suspended flights due to the weather.

More than a dozen rail services between Manchester and York were cancelled and bus services were severely affected in Sheffield. Tram services in Sheffield were also affected by the blizzards with some routes blocked by abandoned cars.

Elsewhere, hazardous driving conditions have been reported on roads up and down the country. Main roads in Durham and Yorkshire were closed because of adverse weather, as the Highways Agency issued warnings.

Police in the Highlands said roads were passable with care, while in the Grampian region motorists are being advised to drive with caution.

There were 180 gritters out on the roads in Scotland, which has seen isolated power cuts. More than 130 schools were forced to close across Northern Ireland and a total of 34 schools were shut in Cumbria, with half in Carlisle.

Some 20 schools in Oldham, Greater Manchester, were also forced to close because of snow, as were 13 schools in Rossendale, Lancashire. Meanwhile, 15 schools in the Highlands closed, 22 in Dumfries and Galloway, five in Derbyshire, and many more across Yorkshire and Durham.

Five schools in the north of Staffordshire were closed yesterday due to the bad weather. Parts of Yorkshire, Derbyshire and the North East have been the worst affected, although snow has fallen across most parts of the Midlands. Around four inches of snow fell in Cumbria yesterday. There was even an earthquake measuring 3.8 on the Richter scale in the village of Cottesmore, in Rutland, in the East Midlands, on Wednesday night.

Public Health England officials have warned the plummeting temperatures could endanger the health of the elderly and vulnerable.

Mobile phone operator EE has been advising its customers of loss of coverage in Ayrshire, West Yorkshire and Tyne and Wear due the adverse weather conditions.

While temperatures are expected to creep up slightly today in the region, forecasters say an Arctic blast will send a fresh wave of snow and freezing temperatures over the weekend.

The Met Office has issued yellow snow warnings and said more could be put in place. Snow is predicted to hit the north of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Saturday, and is expected to spread down both sides of the UK on Sunday.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: "Not until the middle or end of next week will we see the possibility of things changing to milder conditions."

On Monday, an emergency was declared in a swathe of north-eastern states in America and meteorologists predicted up to 36ins of snow. A driving ban was imposed in New York and even the subway was shut in anticipation.

However, on Tuesday New Yorkers awoke to a blanket of snow less deep than feared. Other areas of the New York state saw much heavier snowfall. A teenage boy was killed in a sledging accident in the area. Worst affected elsewhere were Connecticut and Massachusetts, with the heaviest snowfall recorded outside Boston –36 in of snow in Lunenburg by Tuesday night.

In Connecticut, an elderly man collapsed while shovelling snow. He died later in hospital on Tuesday.

Thousands of people lost power to their homes, more than 45,000 of them in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, drivers 'have risen to the challenge' of traffic congestion caused by winter weather and road works in Birmingham.

The city council's Tahir Ali praised motorists for their patience during a 'challenging' month for the road network.

Closures on the M6 have coincided with the start of closures near Paradise Circus as the Central Library demolition begins.

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