The second named storm of the season is forecast to bring snow, rain and strong winds to parts of the UK this weekend.
Storm Bert has been named by the Met Office, with wind gusts of up to 70mph expected in some areas. Heavy snowfall could bring further disruption to parts of the country while heavy rain is also likely, especially in western parts.
Storm Bert was expected to bring “heavy rain, strong winds and disruptive snow to parts of the UK through the weekend”, the Met Office said.
Hundreds of schools are already closed after heavy snowfall. More than 114 were shut in the Highland council area on Thursday, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day would be rescheduled.
Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire were also shut, while many others had delayed openings. In Moray, about 12 were closed and others opened late. More than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland on Wednesday because of the weather.
In England, 89 schools were shut in Devon on Thursday, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall. In Wales, about 10 were closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.
Forecasters have issued a yellow warning of snow and ice for much of Scotland, northern England and parts of western and eastern England and Wales between midday on Thursday and 10am on Friday. They had previously issued a yellow warning for snow and ice across northern Scotland until midday on Thursday, with 2cm to 5cm of snow expected fairly widely.
The weather has also caused transport disruption, with Stagecoach Highland services in Inverness suspended because of road conditions and Stagecoach Bluebird services in Moray disrupted.
Parts of south-west England – including Plymouth and Exeter – are under a yellow warning for snow until 3pm on Thursday, with 5-10cm predicted in higher parts of Dartmoor.
The Met Office chief meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert, said: “A northerly airflow will continue to feed snow showers into Scotland over the next few days, with this reaching lower levels at times and bringing the potential for some travel disruption.
“Overnight temperatures will drop below zero fairly widely over the next few days, which has resulted in some ice warnings, with further warnings likely through this week.
“On Thursday, a mixture of snow, sleet and rain is likely to affect the south-west, which could potentially bring disruption. It’s likely high ground in the area will see snow, with a mixture of conditions likely at lower levels.”
A more severe amber warning for snow and ice has been issued for Saturday in Perthshire. And further yellow warnings for rain have been issued from Saturday to Sunday morning in south-west England and throughout Wales.
