Jamie Whitehead
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

England, Wales and Northern Ireland woke this morning after the coldest night of the season so far, with temperatures dropping as low as -6.6C in Oxfordshire.

The cold weather has led to hundreds of schools closing and left homes in west Wales without power.

Weather warnings for ice are in place across south-west and eastern England, as well as Scotland and west Wales. There's also an amber warning in northern England which lasts until 21:00 today.

The Met Office says there's a chance of more "thundersnow" today too - that's when a thunderstorm meets freezing snowy conditions.

Looking ahead, the cold weather is set to continue. New yellow weather warnings for ice have been issued today, lasting until tomorrow. These cover parts of south-west and eastern England, Scotland and west Wales.

If you're in an affected area, stay safe. We've got guides on keeping your home warm, driving safely if you have to, and looking after your pets.

If you’re already physically warm and after something heartwarming, these dogs and guinea pigs you’ve sent in might just do the trick.

We are closing our live coverage now, but our news story will remain updated with the latest on the cold weather and any new warnings which are issued.

Thanks for joining us. Stay warm.

In case you hadn't seen, it's been snowing quite a bit in parts of the UK. Here are some of our favourite pictures from across the day:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Kirsty Pye

Image source, PA

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers | Cartographer

Liz Roberts
Reporting from the North York Moors

The driver of this truck had been in this spot all night, after the snow started coming down heavy at around 17:00 yesterday.

He's only just got away in the last few minutes after a snow plough cleared the lay-by.

We are here at Blakey Ridge in the North York Moors to do some filming, the snow has been coming down on-and-off all day, but the wind has caused drifts in places making driving conditions very difficult.

It’s definitely a cold one out here today, but we’re well prepared.

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/@TRISPIRIT

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/@GOLDEN WHISKY

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/@ANGELA

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Chris Fawkes
Weather presenter

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/@PEGGY LEPUGFF

Official observations show that the snowiest part of the UK is Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands, which has a snow covering 9cm (3.5 inches) deep – but is this really the largest snow depth in the county?

Almost certainly not.

For a start the UK only has a handful of weather stations that measure snow depths and these are really sparse. So, there will be lots of places that will have had more snow than the few areas covered by official weather stations.

These official sites have snow depths measured either by an observer or at automated sites. Soundwaves are used to measure the distance between the snow surface and sensor in much the same way as a bat uses echolocation.

Either way, measurements should be representative of the lying snow and should not record snow drifts.

So far, one of the snowiest places I’ve seen from our WeatherWatchers is Crymych, Pembrokeshire - where a believable 28cm of snow was measured.

This area's been under the "Pembrokeshire Dangler" all day and sits 250m (820ft) above sea level.

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/@PEGGY LEPUGFF

We're used to seeing Premier League players jetting off for warmer climates to train over winter - not the hardy League Two side Harrogate Town...

Image source, Harrogate Town

Image source, Harrogate Town

Chris Fawkes
Weather presenter

The Met Office has issued further yellow ice warnings, this time for parts of west Wales and south-west England, valid for tonight and tomorrow morning.

The ice risk is for the same areas affected by the "Pembrokeshire Dangler" which could continue to bring a few more centimetres of snow for a time overnight before dying away as the winds change direction later in the night.

This change of wind direction will form a new persistent shower stream effecting parts of Kent overnight. This "Kent Dangler" will bring a mix of rain, sleet and some snow.

Icy conditions will develop with some areas of lying snow possible for the hills of east Kent by tomorrow.

Jasmine Lowe
BBC News

Sue and Kevin Wheeldon in Beverley, East Yorkshire, were called at 07:30 GMT with an urgent mission: to take their grandchildren sledging.

Both are taking turns to push the children down the slope on Beverley Westwood.

"It’s fine at the start but you soon get out of puff," Kevin Wheeldon, 65, says.

Sue Wheeldon, 66, made sure that the children were wrapped up warm for their morning out. “I came up here when I was about their age to sledge," she recalls.

Their eldest granddaughter, 11-year-old Devon, runs back up the hill shouting “again, again!"

She says she loves the snow and wishes it came to Beverley more, but adds: “I wish grandma and grandad could get better at pushing.”

As snow cotinues to falls on much of the UK today, you've been sending us your wintry snaps. Here are some of the highlights:

Image source, Tom Raven

Image source, Ellen Murphy-Clarke

Image source, Angie P

As a reminder, you can send us your updates, pictures and questions on WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803, external

Image source, PA Media

If you’re just joining us, here’s a quick recap of the key updates from the last few hours:

• England, Wales and Northern Ireland had their coldest night of the autumn, with temperatures dropping as low as -6.6C in Benson, Oxfordshire
• The Met Office says "thundersnow" was recorded in parts of the UK on Wednesday, and more could be seen today
• The cold snap has prompted several yellow weather warnings, along with a more severe amber warning in North Yorkshire and amber cold-health alerts for parts of the UK
• Three new yellow warnings have also been issued, all stretching into Friday

• School closures are being reported across the UK, with more than 100 closed in north-east Scotland
• In Wales, hundreds are without power due to disruption caused by snow and ice

In Seaham, County Durham, the Tommy statue has been braving the cold snap, covered in snow.

The statue, also known as 1101, represents a World War One soldier. The 9ft 5in (2.87m) figure was commissioned to mark 100 years since the war and was installed in May 2014.

Here are some pictures of it today:

Image source, PA Media

The Met Office says "thundersnow" - when a thunderstorm meets freezing snowy conditions - hit parts of the North York Moors and the Highlands of Scotland on Wednesday.

And there's a risk we could see more today off the coast of eastern Scotland and north-east England, according to a Met Office spokesperson.

This rare phenomenon, which can only happen in very specific conditions, can bring heavy downpours of snow.

As with typical thunderstorms, thundersnow also comes with lightning, which the Met Office says will look "brighter" as the light reflects off the snowflakes.

However, because the snowflakes dampen the sound, it's often much quieter than a usual thunderstorm.

Matt Taylor
BBC Weather

Here is how low temperatures dropped overnight for each of the four nations, after Northern Ireland, Wales and England all saw their lowest of the season so far.

Ken Banks
BBC Scotland, in Aberdeen

A day off school because of the winter weather meant these delighted children in the north east of Scotland got the chance to build a snowman.

The five happy faces - or six if you count the snowman - were in Countesswells, on the outskirts of Aberdeen.

They were photographed by my BBC Scotland colleague Ben Philip, who says the children named their snowman Snowy.

Holly Harrison
BBC Wales

Image source, Narberth Town Council

After a car lost control on icy roads in snow-hit Pembrokeshire this morning, the local butchers came to the rescue.

Staff at Andrew Rees Butchers in Narberth helped steady the car so it could set off again after becoming stranded on the freezing roads.

Pembrokeshire council has warned drivers to check conditions before travelling.

This comes after BBC reporter Aled Scourfield said the snow in the area was the heaviest he had seen since moving there 20 years ago.

All morning, you've been sending us your pictures.Here are some of them.

Image source, Ellen Murphy-Clarke

Image source, Tom Raven

If you would like to send us your pictures of the snow where you are this morning, you can in the following ways:

• BBC Your Voice:[email protected]
• WhatsApp:+44 7756 165803, external
• Upload your pictures and video
• Tweet:@BBC_HaveYourSay, external

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Image source, Amey Pandit

Karl Necke
BBC Wales

Schools across mid and west Wales have shut and hundreds of homes have lost power due to disruption caused by snow and ice.

More than 30 schools have closed in Pembrokeshire, seven in Ceredigion and 14 in Carmarthenshire.

The National Grid says hundreds of properties in Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire were also without power.

Meanwhile, the Met Office - which has issued a yellow weather warning for all three regions and Swansea - says some areas could see up to 10cm (four inches) of snow, particularly on higher ground, and the risk of ice could make travel hazardous.

Dyfed-Powys Police has warned of poor driving conditions in parts of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire leading to roads being closed.

Drivers and pedestrians have been urged to check conditions before travelling and be prepared for forecasts to change through the day.

Sarah Keith-Lucas
Weather presenter

The Met Office have issued three new weather yellow warnings for ice through this evening and overnight, covering northern and eastern coastal regions of England and Scotland.

• The warning in north-east Scotland is valid from 21:00 Thursday until 11:00 Friday
• The warning for eastern and south-east England is valid from 18:00 Thursday until 11:00 Friday
• The warning for north-east England is valid from 00:00 until 12:00 Friday

Wintry showers will continue into the evening hours for some eastern parts of Britain, before gradually easing through the night.

As temperatures fall below freezing, this will lead to a chance of ice developing on untreated surfaces such as roads and pavements.

Holly Fleck
BBC Northern Ireland

Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/ @Suzanne

A blanket of snow and ice covers parts of Northern Ireland this morning, with a yellow weather warning in force until midday.

Overnight, there were lows of -3C in the Antrim Glens and 4cm (1.6 inches) of snow was reported in County Tyrone, leading to hazardous road conditions during the morning commute.

Highs of between 3-6C and some dry and sunny spells are forecast for today, with temperatures expected to drop as low as -3C or -4C in some rural areas tonight.

Courtesy of our Weather Watchers, here's a selection of snowy pet pics taken in Newcastle, North Yorkshire and Devon:

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/ @MADDIE

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/ @BRADLEY

Image source, BBC WEATHER WATCHERS/ @GUINEA PIG SUZE