Snow And Ice Could Cause More Delays

Commuters face further disruptions in parts of the UK as forecasters predict more snow, a day after air and train passengers endured miserable delays.

A light dusting of snow sent the UK's transport system into meltdown on Wednesday , with major holiday airport Stansted shut for more than two hours and road and rail journeys delayed.

While England and Wales were enjoying milder conditions on Thursday, Scotland experienced more cold temperatures and snow.

Western parts of Scotland had snow later into Wednesday night, and by mid-morning Thursday there was snow or freezing rain in most areas north of the border.

Sky News weather presenter Isobel Lang said: "The risk of disruption from winter weather is further northwest across Scotland, northern England and Wales with the potential for ice, rain and heavy snow."

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Overnight temperatures in Scotland plunged to -12C in Braemar, and up to 15cm (6in) of snow could fall on higher ground on Thursday, and 3cm (1.25in) in Aberdeenshire, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

On Wednesday Robert Johnston, 79, was found dead near a school in Angus. It is unclear whether his death was related to the weather and police are not treating it as suspicious.

Two schools in Aberdeenshire closed to all pupils and 50 either closed to pupils having to travel or changed the usual transport routes.

One nursery in Aberdeen city was closed to children who have to use transport because of icy roads and the threat of more snow.

Friday will bring slightly better weather all round but there could still be some problems with transport, said Lang.

"There may be some snow early on Friday which could again bring some temporary disruption to motorists - in particular over eastern counties of England," she said.

"The main theme for Friday is a drier and brighter one as the weather improves from the west, but with a cold and gusty northerly wind."

Lang said the weekend should be better, however she warned motorists should prepare for difficult driving conditions.

"Travel disruption is unlikely at the weekend - although there will still be icy roads and perhaps some fog on Saturday and the risk of some wintry showers in the north during Sunday."

But next week is expected to be much worse, according to Lang.

"The weather is looking much colder next week with the potential for an icy blast from the east. This could bring some significant snow falls across eastern Britain."

On Wednesday, forecasters said the snow that caused transport chaos had amounted to no more than "one or two centimetres in places".

Luton, Aberdeen and Stansted airports were affected by the wintry conditions on Wednesday.

Stansted Airport , in Essex, was shut from about 6am to 8.30am, and passengers' patience wore thin as flights were delayed and then cancelled.

Patrycja Kubiak, from Poznan in Poland, was due to fly home on the 7.05am flight, but at around 8.30am she was told it had been cancelled.

The 20-year-old music student said: "I'm just surprised that such a small amount of snow can cause these problems. It only snowed for half an hour."

Flight schedules for Stansted are currently operating as normal, the airport's website said, and Luton airport also showed no indications of delays.

Rail routes in southern England were also hit by poor conditions.

Trains were cancelled between Watford Junction in Hertfordshire and Harrow and Wealdstone in northwest London, while snow caused delays of up to 90 minutes between London and Reading in Berkshire.

There were cancellations between Barnes and Hounslow via Brentford in west London, while there were delays between London and Ashford International in Kent and also between Sevenoaks in Kent and Hither Green in southeast London.

The A120 was one of the many roads in Essex to be affected by the weather, while the A171 near Scarborough was one of Yorkshire's snow-hit routes.

:: Read more on Sky News Weather , including Thursday's forecast