Whiteout conditions prevailed in the Pennines on Thursday

Sleet and drifting snow could cause problems before warmer weather is due at the weekend, and up to a centimetre more snow may fall in some areas.

Lincolnshire, the East Midlands and northern England have been the worst affected, with drifts up to 1m high.

More than 600 schools were closed across parts of the UK on Thursday.

Sleet or snow were forecast for Thursday evening across the Midlands and Lincolnshire, especially the Derbyshire hills and Staffordshire moors.

The Met Office also warned of icy roads and snow affecting Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

Blizzard conditions have set in on higher routes in northern England and drivers are advised not to venture out unless their journeys are essential.

Your pictures: Snow hits UK

An RAC patrolman spent eight hours trapped in snow at Rosedale Abbey, on the North York Moors, before being found by an RAF mountain rescue team at about 0600 GMT on Thursday.

BBC forecaster Rob McElwee said Thursday night would see less snow, but clearing skies would see ice in East Anglia and south-east England as well as central Scotland.

The weekend is expected to be less cold with far less snow.

On Thursday, school closures included:

• More than 130 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, and 109 out of 181 in South Yorkshire
• Around 100 in the East Midlands
• Sixty-six shut for a second day in Fife, after more than 400 Scottish closures on Wednesday
• Dozens in Kent and Lancashire
• A dozen in north Staffordshire
• In the east, 17 were shut in Norfolk, 20 in Northamptonshire and 21 in Suffolk
• In Northumberland and County Durham nearly 60 schools closed
• 14 in Wales

HAVE YOUR SAY Amazing how much chaos this white stuff can cause Wendy Waters, Newcastle upon Tyne Send us your comments

With schools closed and the weekend approaching, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents warned people to stay away from frozen waterways.

"It is vital that people do not step out on to frozen waterways. They should not even test the thickness of the ice with their toes," said RoSPA's Peter Cornall.

"If it gives way, you have almost no chance of survival in the freezing water."

The late winter cold snap is due to high pressures over Scandinavia and northern Europe and low pressures to the west of the UK, causing temperatures to plunge.

Do you have any pictures of snow in your area? You can e-mail them to: yourpics@bbc.co.uk