Motorists have been warned they may have to abandon their journeys this morning as heavy snow was forecast for parts of the UK amid a picture of overall “nasty” travel conditions.

Areas in northern England are expected to be hit with the worst of the snow, with up to 15cm expected to fall, as the Met Office also issued warnings for ice and winds that could gust up to 70mph.

Shortly after 9am on Friday morning, Glasgow Airport said it was suspending all operations amid worsening conditions. Images posted by travellers on social media showed a blanketing of snow across gates and runway.

Highways England also gave out a severe weather warning and urged people to plan their journeys, monitor weather reports and pack a snow kit of blankets, food, water and a shovel if they travel.

The RAC said it expected to attend "in the region of one breakdown every 10 seconds through the course of Friday".

Its spokesman Rod Dennis said: "Some northern regions are set to see further snowfall in the early hours, making driving conditions very difficult if not impossible where the heaviest snowfall occurs.

"Drivers in the areas likely to be affected should consider delaying their journeys if they are not absolutely essential, as some disruption is likely."

Rail and other air services remain at risk from the extreme conditions, and travellers are being told to plan ahead for their journeys in the event of delays or cancellations of services.

It comes after Britain woke up from one of the coldest nights of the year as the mercury plummeted to a low of minus 12.3C.

The Met Office issued its warnings today over the snow, ice and gale force winds, as a torrent of turbulent weather sweeps in from the east.

Met Office forecaster Charles Powell said there could be some "pretty nasty travel conditions" as the country tries to get moving this morning.

"It is a band of severe weather. Weather warnings are in force. There is going to be disruption in some shape or form," he said.

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Parts of northern England are on standby for heavy snow, while swathes of the country have been warned of a risk of ice and wintry showers.

An amber warning of snow in West Yorkshire, the South Pennines and places such as Rochdale and Burnley is in place until 11am and a wider yellow warning for snow has been issued for southern and eastern Scotland, northern England and the Midlands until 3pm.