UK weather live: country braces for snow and freezing rain as temperatures fall | UK weather

Here are a few pictures from around the UK on Friday:

Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said some “significant accumulations” of snow are possible in parts of Wales, the Midlands and northern England, and the additional factor of strengthening winds could lead to drifting of lying snow.

He added:

There is a risk of freezing rain across parts of the Midlands and northern England, but especially Wales, adding to the risk of ice and leading to some treacherous conditions in places.

As the super-cooled rain droplets hit the surface they instantly freeze, covering everything in a layer of ice, making it extremely dangerous.

Good morning and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the UK’s freezing weather.

A cold weather health alert has been issued for all regions in England with large parts of the UK set to be hit by snow and freezing rain, after temperatures across the UK plunged as low as -8C (17.6F) on Friday.

The Met Office has warned that the freezing weather could cause delays to rail and air travel, power cuts and the cutting off of rural communities, with up to 30cm of snow forecast in some areas.

Temperatures of minus 10C were forecast in parts of rural Scotland on Friday night, according to the Met Office.

An amber warning for snow and rare freezing rain covering most of Wales and central England, including the Midlands and the north-west cities of Liverpool and Manchester, is in place from 6pm on Saturday to midday on Sunday, the Met Office said.

The second warning for snow, covering most of northern England including Leeds, Sheffield and the Lake District, has been issued from 9pm on Saturday to midnight on Sunday.

Three separate yellow weather warnings for snow and ice will be in force for most areas of the UK, covering different periods of time until Monday afternoon.

Here’s what else you need to know:

• The cold weather health alert, issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), lasts until midday on Wednesday. It means it is expected temperatures inside places such as hospitals, care homes and clinics could drop below the recommended levels.

• A baby boy was killed in a crash on Thursday night when a car hit a tree on the A1 near Grantham in Lincolnshire, and police are investigating whether the incident was linked to icy conditions on the carriageway. The baby, who was seven months old, was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead just after 5am, Lincolnshire police said.

• The UK’s lowest temperature of the cold snap so far was recorded in Benson in Oxfordshire, where it was -8.1C on Friday morning, while temperatures dropped to -7.5C in Shap, Cumbria, and -6.7C at Bournemouth airport. In Scotland, the lowest recorded temperature was -6.4C in Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway.

• Some football games have already been called off this weekend. They include Cheltenham’s clash with League Two leaders Walsall which was due to take place on Saturday, Halifax’s National League home game against Fylde which was also scheduled for Saturday, and Friday night’s Scottish Championship game between Airdrie and leaders Falkirk.