Motorists were stranded for a second night as freezing temperatures brought traffic to a standstill in some areas, and one driver resorted to eating snow off the roof of his car.
Sleet and snow continued during the early hours of Saturday morning, causing treacherous conditions on highways across Kent and Hampshire.
There were reports of drivers stuck past midnight on some routes, with issues reported on the A21, A229 and A249 in Kent, as well as the A339, A30 and M3 in Hampshire. One motorist told the BBC he was forced to eat snow off the roof of his car after he became trapped on the M3.
Hampshire police have told drivers to take care on the roads because of potential icy patches. Kent police said they had had an “incredibly busy night” with multiple vehicles stuck. The force added there had been “numerous RTCs [road traffic collisions] and vehicles going the wrong way on the motorway”.
Robert Bell, Highways England’s south-east operations manager, said: “We have every sympathy for drivers who found themselves stranded in the severe weather.”
Highways England worked through the night with teams of gritters and snow ploughs. “On the M3, three HGVs came to a halt, blocking the carriageway and stopping traffic. We worked hard with police partners to get the traffic moving as soon as possible in the challenging conditions,” Bell said.
The Met Office has forecast rain and sleet across coastal areas for Saturday morning, but the central swath of Britain is expected to see sunny spells for much of the afternoon. There will be widespread hard frost during the early hours of Sunday morning, with sub-zero temperatures reaching double digits in parts of Scotland and England. It could be the coldest night of the winter so far, the Met Office says.
Meteorologist Alex Burkill said Benson in Oxfordshire was one of the spots predicted to reach -10C (14F) or below, while lows of -16C are forecast in parts of Scotland on Saturday or Sunday.
A yellow warning for snow and ice covering large areas of the UK remained in place until noon on Saturday. It covered northern Scotland, most of Northern Ireland, the eastern coast of England, the south of England and the west coast of Wales.
Snow caused widespread disruption on Friday. Hundreds of motorists were stranded, air and rail passengers faced cancellations or difficult journeys, and more than 1,000 schools were closed.
