December 28, 2005
BBC
Photo: Kent has been worst-hit by the snow
More heavy snow is predicted for parts of England as motorists are warned to take care with ice set to cover the UK.
On Tuesday, parts of Kent saw the most snow - up to 12cm deep - as temperatures reached close to freezing in eastern parts, including London.
The severe weather forced the Channel Tunnel to close, while the London-bound carriageway of the M20 was shut at junction 13.
Overnight temperatures were expected to reach -5C (23F).
More snowfall, up to 15cm deep, was likely from East Sussex to Yorkshire, a Met Office spokeswoman said.
The Highways Agency (HA) urged motorists to listen to local travel and weather reports and, if they did need to travel, to delay their journeys.
Rail services, particularly those linking Kent with London, have been severely disrupted.
The snow will stick around until Friday afternoon when the weather will get a lot milder and a thaw will probably begin
Snow is expected to continue falling until Friday, with the Midlands and the north-east coasts of England and Scotland expected to be affected.
The west of the country is expected to avoid the snowy weather but will be hit by ice.
"The snow will stick around until Friday afternoon when the weather will get a lot milder and a thaw will probably begin," a BBC Weather Centre spokesman said.
On the M20, a 50mph speed limit has been imposed between junction eight at Maidstone and junction 12 at Folkestone, with the motorway down to one lane in places.
The Highways Agency warned the A1, A1M, M1, M11, M25 and M2 were all likely to be affected by the severe weather.
Photo: Snow is expected to continue to fall over the next two days (Bearsted, near Maidstone, Kent)
Gritters were deployed to all main roads, including the M25.
Main roads to Dover were shut, with the A20 and the A2 among routes into the port town closed off following several "heavy snow flurries" during Tuesday evening.
The Highways Agency urged drivers to be cautious in the "perilous" driving conditions, which are expected to last until Friday.
If they do travel, motorists should make sure they have food and drink, warm clothes, boots, de-icer, a spade and a scraper, it said.
The RAC, meanwhile, has said traffic disruption could be at its worst on Wednesday.
"With a bit of luck, it shouldn't be too bad today as regards volumes of traffic on the road," spokesman Roger Watson told BBC News.
"But certainly tomorrow, if the weather's still here in the state it's in at the moment, a lot of people are going to be back to work and that's when we really expect quite a peak volume on the road.
"Over the Christmas period there were probably about 80 million vehicles on the road and, of course, the law of averages say that a good percentage of them are going to break down at some stage which adds to the traffic chaos."
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