**The UK has suffered its coldest night of the winter so far with temperatures plummeting to -21.2C (-6.2F) in the north-west Highlands.**There were also lows of -13.4C (7.9F) in Woodford, Cheshire, -14.7 (5.5F) in Sennybridge, Powys, and -10 (14F) at Aldergrove near Belfast.
Many schools will remain closed and councils are struggling to grit roads.
Temperatures could fall further over the weekend, and the cold spell is forecast to last at least another week.
Salford, Northumberland and Gloucestershire are among the areas to have announced further mass school closures.
In Wales 556 schools are closed, almost a third of the total in the country.
FROZEN BRITAIN
Special report: Frozen Britain
Next week’s GCSE and A-level exams in England, Wales and Northern Ireland could be plunged into chaos should schools remain closed.
Easyjet has cancelled about 30 flights at airports including Gatwick, Liverpool, Belfast and Stansted.
British Airways said passengers should check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport.
Passengers at Heathrow airport have reported experiencing a lack of staff and delays in getting their baggage.
British Airways said it was aware of some problems with baggage reclaim but it was widespread across Heathrow, not just affecting BA or Terminal 5.
Train companies operating revised timetables include South West Trains, Southern and Southeastern.
The breakdown of a train travelling from Brussels to London in the Channel Tunnel has affected Eurostar services.
Power supplies
Supplies of grit are close to running out in some areas, and many councils are restricting gritting to just major roads.
The Local Government Association admitted supplies were “stretched”.
WEATHER AND TRAVEL INFO
- Get the latest on school closures and travel problems via yourBBC Localwebsite
- Check if snow is forecast in your area atBBC Weather
- Details of motorway and local road closures and public transport disruption are available atBBC Travel News
- For advice on handling difficult driving conditions, see theHighways Agencywebsite
- For information about severe weather warnings, see theMet Officewebsite
- For information about staying healthy in the current cold snap, see theNHS Winter Healthwebsite
Some 95 major firms were told to turn off their gas supply and switch to alternative fuels as demand for energy soared.
They included 55 businesses in the East Midlands, 39 in the North West and one in East Anglia.
National Grid said that figure would be reduced to 27 on Friday - 12 in the East Midlands and 15 in the North West.
The companies’ contracts allow National Grid to make such a move in return for cheaper regular supplies of gas.
About 5,000 homes across southern England were without electricity because of trees falling on power lines and safety mechanisms being triggered by ice weighing down cables.
EDF Energy said only about 400 to 500 of those homes remained without power on Thursday night.
Most of those cut off in Kent, Surrey and Hampshire had been reconnected and it reported only “normal fault levels” for the time of year.
A further 970 homes were without electricity in East Finchley, north London, after a fault with an underground cable at about 2200 GMT.
Up to 25,000 homes across the UK have been similarly affected since Wednesday.
Temperatures barely rose above freezing on Thursday, remaining between -8C and 0C in most parts of the UK after falling to nearly -18C on Wednesday night.
• A man’s body was recovered from under the ice of frozen waters on Thursday morning at the Lakeside Country Club in Frimley Green, Surrey, where the World Darts Championship is taking place
• Police are concerned for the safety of two teenage Welsh girls missing in sub-zero conditions near Newport. They have not been seen since Sunday
• A man was treated in hospital after being injured when the weight of snow caused a cattle shed to collapse in Aberdeenshire
• The AA said it had been called out to more than 16,000 breakdowns on Thursday by 1700 GMT
Major disruption has already been caused to the sporting programme over the weekend.
Four matches in football’s Championship have been called off, and only three fixtures survive in Leagues One and Two. Ten Scottish Cup games have fallen victim to the weather.
Horse racing and rugby union fixtures have also been hit.
FORECAST FROM BBC WEATHER
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