That brings to an end our live coverage for the day.

From school closures and tricky commutes, to power outages and water shortages, we've kept you up to date with the fallout from Storm Goretti across the region.

And amid all that, we may have found room for some daft dogs, pink skies and snowmen in various states of stability.

While there are no more snow alerts in place with the exception of Staffordshire, the region is subject to an ice warning which lasts into Saturday. That thawing sludge is due to harden.

if you've been out, do take care on your trips home - the gritters have been hard at work, but they can't get everywhere, and people are advised to proceed carefully, even on treated roads.

Wishing all those without water and power this evening a speedy re-connection, this is Friday's live team signing off.

Thank you for joining us.

We have now had further technical explanation about why skies turned pink over Birmingham last night as LED lights from Birmingham City FC's stadium were reflected off clouds and snow.

And no, we didn't expect to finish the day with science either, but amid all the school closures, there had to be some lessons... Read on for more, amaze your friends...

Image source, Getty Images

Grahame Madge, Met Office spokesman, said: "The blue wavelengths of light are more easily scattered by snow or water droplets, allowing the longer wavelengths - such as red and orange - to get through.

"This can have the effect of turning colours more pink."

So now we know! And knowing is half the battle.

People using the trains tonight and over the weekend are being warned there could be more delays and cancellations, as the network slowly returns to normal.

Transport for Wales said the majority of its services had resumed, but said work to inspect, repair and clear lines would continue.

CrossCountry said Storm Goretti had a "significant impact" and "the past 24 hours have been extremely challenging for both customers and colleagues".

It said another consequence of the disruption was that some trains had been stranded and unable to refuel overnight.

West Midlands Railway, meanwhile, has been advising customers, external not to travel, although services may be checked to gauge whether they are in operation.

Here's the last one from our BBC Weather Watchers, taken by Slay in Warwick.

Anything else is just... Peanuts.

Image source, BBC Weather Waters/Slay

Farmers in rural Shropshire have been helping to get vets through the snow to emergency appointments.

Rachael Sims from Fyrnwy Equine Hospital said she and colleagues were grateful to the farmers in the Shropshire Hills for their help, with tractors among the snowy life hacks.

Image source, Rachael Sims

But it wasn't the only incident of tractors helping out in Shropshire.

We told you earlier how farmers were making life easier in Much Wenlock.

Just under 4,000 homes are still without power in Shropshire, after the snow caused damage to lines overnight.

Earlier today, that number was more than 10,000.

In some cases, such as here in Coalbrookdale, the lines were brought down by branches, heavy with snow.

Image source, Jason Pullinger

A crew out gritting in Wigmore, Herefordshire, has been forced off the road by "someone driving irresponsibly", according to the county council.

Image source, Herefordshire County Council

The authority confirmed the crew were unharmed, and the vehicle had been retrieved so it could continue working through the night to help keep the highways open.

"If you are on the roads tonight please drive carefully and with consideration for others," the council said.

Navtej Johal
Midlands correspondent

Rich from Walsall Wood brought his daughters to Oak Park to try out the sledges he made for them last night.

He said the girls had wanted to play in the snow at 22:00 on Thursday night, but he "managed to convince them to go to bed and play today".

Shropshire has faced plenty of challenges today, including power outages and water supply difficulties - various posts below cover those issues.

So compromised were council services as a result, that the public was asked to be kind to staff when alerting them to problems.

It was not business as usual, for instance, where recycling and waste collections were concerned, with both suspended on Friday.

The advice from Shropshire Council was that if people's normal collection day was Friday, to make sure bins and boxes were in place from Monday.

Crews would then catch up throughout next week, prioritising scheduled collections.

As for garden waste, collections are suspended until crews are up to speed with recycling and rubbish, according to the authority.

Not to be outdone by the region's dogs, our ducks have been sticking their beak in too.

Check out this feathered group in Lichfield, and more from around the city...

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

As we've been telling you this afternoon, thousands of people are without power in the West Midlands, principally in Shropshire.

Downing Street said support was being offered to homes with an outage.

Giving a national picture, a No 10 spokesman said earlier: "The latest data I have is that around 0.21% of British customers are without power.

"Engineers and staff are working to reconnect them as quickly as possible.

"The latest numbers I have is approximately 150,000 customers have had their power restored so far."

The regional picture is reflected within our live coverage below, and you can read more here.

BBC Weather Watcher Sally has sent in this Traitors-themed snow-person.

Like some of the contestants, we're not sure how long it will last.

Image source, Sally/BBC Weather Watchers

Andrew Dawkins
West Midlands

Services at Wolverhampton's crematorium were cancelled on Friday, with the city's cemeteries also shut.

Funeral directors McGinn and Sons, a business of 42 years' standing, said the decision to shut Bushbury Crematorium was "unheard of".

Helen Cupitt, whose relative was to have been remembered at the crematorium on Friday, said she was sure the service could have gone ahead.

Image source, Family

A spokesman for City of Wolverhampton Council said it made "the extremely difficult decision to close our cemeteries based on the forecast" on Thursday. At the time, an amber warning for snow had been issued for Thursday evening and Friday.

The city then awoke to snow on Friday, as did residents in neighbouring Shropshire, Walsall and Birmingham.

You can read more here.

Although the snow has caused some major issues for Shropshire today, it has also provided some stunning wintry scenes.

Image source, Mike Olivant

Image source, Jose, Gravels Bank

We told you earlier about an ice warning that's now in place until Saturday.

Birmingham City Council says its gritting crews will be treating the city's main roads this afternoon. and footpaths in the early hours of Saturday.

"Following the heavy snow and continued icy conditions, our gritters will be treating the city’s priority roads at 14:00 GMT, and footpaths at 04:00 GMT tomorrow," the authority said on X.

"Gritting crews were out overnight snowploughing and gritting, and this will continue today."

Craig Jackson, a station manager with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, has warned motorists about roads where large trees have come down, and other driving hazards.

He told BBC Radio Shropshire that due to the vagaries of the county, "the climate changes in different places, so you might go from a wet slushy road that's quite grippy, to something that is covered in snow".

He added: "Because of the large trees that are down, [routes can] go from two lanes to one lane, so just be careful..."

The station manager also thanked everyone in fire control who had been "working tirelessly through the night, making sure that everybody's safe".

From snowmen to beautiful scenery, our BBC Weather Watchers have been busy snapping some brilliant images from across the West Midlands today.

Here are just a few of them:

Image source, TJ photo/BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Paul SG/BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Borderwalk/BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Jose Tweedie/BBC Weather Watchers

Image source, Serena/BBC Weather Watchers

Let's remind you of one of the main news stories to emerge in the West Midlands during the storm.

We shared in the last hour that thousands of properties in Shropshire were still without power, but in turn it's caused other utility problems. What that looks like in Shrewsbury is water supply issues.

The power outages have affected pumps which "help us move water around your area", said supplier Severn Trent. "We are working closely with National Grid to help resolve the issue."

Extra engineers had been brought in from other areas to help restore power to properties in the West Midlands, National Grid said.

Field operations director Roisin Quinn said: "Fallen trees, heavy snow and stranded vehicles have made it difficult for our teams to reach some areas to carry out repairs safely... Engineers are working around the clock to get customers reconnected."

Pupils at Beacon Academy in Willenhall have been learning remotely amid the disruption caused by Storm Goretti.

Assistant headteacher Colleen Green said the children were taking part in a “full day of online learning”, which included maths and English.

Other lessons included a “fun, snow-themed activity” linked to pupils' curriculum, and PE, which involved exercises like star jumps and moving around the house.

“All of the children have had great fun earning remotely and the teachers have had a blast too,” Green said.

Let's start this hour with important information for the rest of the day and weekend...

The Met Office has updated its weather warnings, showing a yellow alert for Ice across the West Midlands. It runs until 12:00 GMT on Saturday.

Minimum temperatures of -3C are forecast for most of the region, with highs barely above zero.

So amid this afternoon's melting snow in some areas, and no flurries for a few hours, we're not out of the woods yet.

Image source, Met Office

An alert for both snow and ice is in place for the north of Staffordshire, and runs from 02:00 to 15:00 on Sunday.

The UK Health Security Agency has extended its amber cold-health alert until Monday 12 January.

It said those with health conditions, and those over 65, were particularly at risk.