Schools closed amid snow and ice disruption

Wintry conditions are set to continue, as dozens of schools across the South West experienced disruption after a yellow weather warning for snow and ice.

The Met Office issued the warning for the region until 11:00 GMT on Tuesday, and it has since issued further warnings for the coming days.

More than 50 schools in Devon were closed or opening later than usual due to the weather, according to Devon County Council. In Cornwall, more than 30 were closed or opening later than usual.

Jen Murphy, from Devon County Council, said road surface temperatures reached -7C overnight.

The Met Office has issued another yellow weather warning for ice for Devon, in place from 00:00 until 10:00 on Wednesday.

It said icy patches overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday morning could lead to some disruption.

It added following a band of precipitation which clears south eastwards overnight, clear skies would develop for many areas on Tuesday night which would lead to icy patches on untreated wet surfaces and result in minor disruption especially on Wednesday morning.

Additionally the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind for Devon and Cornwall on Thursday from 15:00 to 23:59.

An amber cold health alert has been extended until 12:00 on Sunday, said the UK Health Security Agency.

This means there is a potential for a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions, and an increase in demand for health services.

Murphy said: "Our coldest site at the minute is still at -6.7C, at the top of Exmoor.

"The worst of the conditions has probably fallen across the west of the county."

She said north Devon's coastal area was starting to thaw, but the rest of county was below freezing.

"We've had a couple of days now where we've had repeated freeze-thaw, which means that ice is melted and then just refrozen," she said.

"That's where you end up with the black ice."

St Austell Police said it was dealing with a number of crashes in the area due to icy conditions, especially on untreated roads.

"We would encourage any non-urgent journeys to be delayed until later in the morning," officers said on Facebook.

Viv Bidgood, from Cornwall Council's highway management company Cormac, said gritters had been out overnight.

"We went out twice yesterday," he said.

"We're constantly monitoring the situation and reacting to it.

"It's going to be a busy morning for us.

"Helston, in particular, seems to have been affected and St Austell to Liskeard.

"Some areas have had a dusting of snow, some areas have had quite a significant accumulation in places.

"But others have had nothing at all. It's a real mixed bag out there."

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