NI weather chaos continues

The rest of Notthern Ireland is under a yellow snow and ice alert until midnight on Friday.

And it looks like we are in for yet another day of freezing conditions and heavy snowfall as the 'Beast From The East' and Storm Emma combine to cause more chaos across the province.

Yesterday hundreds of schools were forced to close - and hundreds more are shut today. There's an updated list here.

And below is a list of emergency numbers:

• Emergency services - 999 or 101
• Electricity Networks - 03457 643 643
• Gas Emergency Service - 0800 002 001
• Water Waterline - 03457 440 088
• Flooding Incident Line - 0300 2000 100
• Housing Executive - 03448 920 90

The Met Office is warning of more snow showers this morning, mainly in the south. But these should ease through the day. There will also be strong to gale force easterly winds which will bring drifting of any lying snow. That should also die down later. Tonight will be cloudy with occasional snow showers mainly across Down and Armagh with drifting on high ground in the fresh easterly wind. Wirh temperatures falling to -1 °C.

Once again the road network is struggling to cope with the wintry weather. A Roads Service spokesperson said salting and ploughing of the scheduled network has been ongoing through the night:

"In the North and West of the province the scheduled network is all passable with care. However large parts of Counties Down and Armagh and the southern part of County Antrim experienced further significant accumulations of snow through the night.

"The more significant challenge in these areas though has been the drifting of snow that even when roads are cleared very quickly the wind is causing the snow to blow back across the carriageway.

"The M1 has both lanes cleared in both directions whilst the A1 dual carriageway has a single lane clear in both directions. Many of the roads in these areas that would normally be cleared as part of the scheduled salted network are not passable this morning.

"The A Class roads that are not passable at 0545 include A25 Belleek to Newtownhamilton and A29 Newtownhamilton to Keady.

"There are large snow drifts to the side of the A50 Katesbridge to Moneyslane, A25 Rathfriland to Newry, A26 Moira to Nutts Corner and A49 Ballynchinch Road but these are all passable at present although the situation can change quite quickly.

"Further details will be placed on Traffic Watch NI."

Translink has once agan warned many services are subject to delays and cancellations. Cross-border services are also affected.

As is air travel. A spokesman for Belfast City Airport said this morning: “While Belfast City Airport remains fully operational, the adverse weather on the UK mainland has caused delays and cancellations this morning. Flights to and from London Heathrow, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Cardiff are among those cancelled.

“It is essential that passengers check with their airline before travelling to the airport today.”

There are also delays and cancellations at the International Airport.

The whole of the Irish Republic is also on red alert, valid until 6pm on Friday, after being hit by the worst snow in 35 years. Evelyn Cusack, senior forecaster with Met Eireann, warned 40cm of snow could fall in parts of the east and south.

Elsewhere hundreds of motorists were left stranded overnight as extreme weather continued to wreak havoc across the UK - with forecasters warning the country "is not out of the woods yet''.

Strengthening winds caused blizzards and drifting snow in some parts, bringing roads to a standstill and leaving commuters facing travel disruption for the fourth day in a row.

Two police forces declared "major incidents'' as the Army was drafted in to help rescue those left trapped in their cars.

In Greater Manchester, hundreds of drivers spent the night stuck on the M62, with police warning wind speeds had reached 90mph over the Rakewood Viaduct, between junctions 21 and 22.

Dave Webb, 37, from Wakefield, told the Press Association he had been on the motorway for 10 hours.

"We came to a halt at about 5.30pm last night and have been here since,'' he said. There hasn't been any snow since about 6.30pm but the wind is pretty strong and gusting.''

A seven-year-old girl became the latest to die during the severe weather on Thursday.

The child, believed to be a pedestrian, was fatally injured after a car hit a house on Bodrigan Road in Looe at about 2.30pm, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

A 75-year-old woman was earlier found dead in a snow-covered street in Leeds, while Hampshire Police said a 46-year-old man died after a collision involving a lorry and van on the A34 southbound near Tot Hill services.

A 60-year-old man who died after being pulled from the water at Danson Park, near Welling, south-east London, on Wednesday, was named by the Metropolitan Police as Stephen Cavanagh