Get your sledges out! Snow ploughs take to the roads as winter takes an icy grip on the North

By PAUL SIMS



Winter fun: Youngsters Thomas, six, and Alex Kingston, five, have fun sledging in the snow in Tynedale, Northumberland, yesterday morning



It's beginning to look a lot like winter.

After the second-warmest November since records began in 1910, the big freeze has finally arrived. Forecasters warn that four inches of snow will fall in the next 48 hours.

The Met Office has predicted sub-zero temperatures and strong winds for this week, with gritters put on stand-by and motorists warned to take extra precautions after up to three inches fell over the weekend.



Treacherous: Motorists creep along the A66 in Cumbria yesterday



White December: A road plough battles to clear snow from the A686 in Cumbria after overnight snow blanketed much of Northern England



As children frolicked, drivers battled their way through untreated rural roads, with some having to dig themselves out before setting off. Cumbria, Northumberland and County Durham were hit first, but the freezing conditions are set to spread to parts of Yorkshire by midweek at the latest.



Picture postcard: Scenes in Cumbria today following overnight snow



Severe weather warnings are now in place for the region, as well as the North West and North East, amid threats of further snow showers.

Met Office forecaster George Goodfellow said: ‘Up to an inch or two of snow is expected to fall by this morning and over the next couple of days it could accumulate to give us a 10cm [4in] covering.’

Yet as snow blankets parts of the UK, France’s ski resorts are facing a potentially ruinous shortage. Just two of its 36 resorts in the Pyrenees are open, and it is unclear if the snowfall expected there this week will be enough to salvage the season for thousands of ­Britons looking forward to pre-Christmas breaks.



Icy: Snow can be seen for miles as temperatures plummeted overnight



Snow day: A child can be seen enjoying the sudden change in weather with tyre markings in the icy road



Picture postcard: Scenes in Cumbria today following overnight snow



The big freeze begins: A motorist shovels snow from her car in Alston, Cumbria yesterday afternoon with more winter showers expected today



With more snow expected today, commuters can expect to face wiping down their cars at the start of the working week



Wrap up warm: In the South Tyne Valley, Newcastle, people had their first taste of winter when the flakes hit on Saturday



Bit early for you Rudolph: A reindeer gets its first taste of winter after snow fell on the lower slopes of Cairngorm



source: dailymail