Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

Good morning from the BBC Birmingham newsroom. We're seeing a huge selection of your snow photos this morning.

Here's just a selection of the pics we've been receiving.

This photo was taken in Cradley Heath, reporting standstill traffic on Halesowen Road near Haden Cross fire station.

Image source, HadenCrossInn

And Michael shared a number of photos that he took in Birmingham this morning, including this one near the QE Hospital

Image source, lesadmick

The chair of the City of Culture judging panel Phil Redmond will accompany Arts Minister John Glen on a visit to Coventry today.

He said the current City of Culture title-holder Hull had "pushed up the bar" but he thought Coventry would take it forward further with something different.

He said: "What we wanted was what's going to be the biggest impact for the UK and which city will push it up a bit, challenge us all a little bit more.

"And we think that, taking it all together, Coventry is the one that will actually do that for us."

There are more than 50 school closures across the Midlands, many in Sandwell.

See our earlier update for links to council lists.

A few years ago, BBC Magazine put together this guide to school closures.

Coventry City Council's chief executive said the team behind the bid hopes to emulate Hull's success, but will offer something completely different as City of Culture.

City Martin Reeves said the city had been "looked over for far too long".

"Here's our opportunity to shine culturally for our people on a national and an international scale " he said.

"Through culture and through the arts... we're going to have people thinking they've got an ownership of the city again."

BBC News Travel

A vehicle has collided with a bridge at Sandwell and Dudley rail station, says London Midland.

Rail services are having to run at reduced speed through the station, causing delays to services between Wolverhampton and Birmingham New Street.

Stephanie Barnard
BBC News

Snow is falling across the West Midlands. Have you got it in your area? Share your photos with us on Twitter, external and email.

We had to laugh at Telford Langley school's PE department tweeting, external "School is OPEN but unfortunately sledging and snow balls aren't on the curriculum today!"

Image source, Langley_PE

This is the scene currently in Birmingham city centre, just off the Aston Expressway.

BBC News Travel

Some rail lines are blocked between Stourbridge Junction and Droitwich Spa due to a signalling failure.

Rail services running through these stations on the Snow Hill line may be cancelled or delayed, says London Midland.

An inquest into the death of a man in the River Severn, in Shrewsbury at the weekend, is to open next week.

Dwight Jeffrey-Shaw, 29, who lived in the town, was seen entering the water on Saturday afternoon before disappearing under the surface.

His body was found on Sunday.

We're hearing of quite a few more school closures now across the West Midlands - about 20 in Sandwell alone.

Most schools contact parents direct via an app or text if there's a closure, but some councils also publish lists online.

There are the council lists we're aware of and that seem to be working:

• Coventry City Council, external
• Herefordshire Council, external
• Staffordshire County Council, external
• Sandwell Council, external
• Shropshire Council, external
• Stoke-on-Trent City Council, external
• Telford and Wrekin Council, external
• Warwickshire County Council, external
• Wolverhampton City Council, external
• Worcestershire County Council, external

Snow is settling in parts of the Midlands, including Staffordshire, Cheshire, Birmingham and the Black Country.

This was the scene on the A537 in the village of Flash in the Staffordshire Peak District a few moments ago.

Image source, Flash Bar Stores

This is the current view from The Mailbox, in central Birmingham.

Those backing Coventry's winning UK City of Culture bid said work would start straight away to deliver plans for a cultural programme in 2021.

The city's bid includes a major new lighting commission for Coventry Cathedral, and a Shop Front Theatre Festival in March 2018.

Major productions by the Royal Shakespeare Company will also feature, along with an artist-led festival called Moments of Silence.

Community hospital beds are to reopen in Stoke-on-Trent to help ease the pressures at the Royal Stoke University Hospital this winter.

Image source, Google

Two wards at Bradwell Hospital will be open by the end of next month, says the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust.

The beds will be used by patients who no longer require hospital treatment but still require need medical support when they are discharged, it said.

The trust is also reopening 28 beds at Brighton House care home in Silverdale to help deal with "winter pressures".

It's early days, but a handful of schools have already revealed they will be closed on Friday, due to the weather:

• Chase View Community Primary School, Rugeley
• Cherry Trees School, Wombourne

• Moat Farm Infant School and Lavender Farm Nursery, Sandwell
• Moat Farm Junior School, Sandwell
• New Ford Primary School, Stoke-on-Trent
• Phoenix Collegiate, Sandwell
• St Margaret Ward Catholic Academy, Stoke-on-Trent
• Wightwick Hall School, Wolverhampton
• Wood Green Junior School, Sandwell

Charlie Slater
BBC Weather presenter

A cold and wintry start to Friday with some snow showers to come through the daytime.

There should also be some dry and bright weather in the mix with highs of only 2C (36F).

Let's tell you a few things about Coventry's cultural heritage:

The city is the birthplace of Philip Larkin, one of England's most celebrated poets, electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire and best-selling author Lee Child. It's also the home of the Two Tone ska movement through bands like The Specials and The Selecter.

Venues include Warwick Arts Centre, the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and the Belgrade Theatre, which launched the Theatre In Education movement in 1965.

It's also the home of the UK's first Shop Front Theatre and boasts the UK's largest free family music festival with the Coventry Godiva Festival.

A reminder of how Coventry discovered it had won UK City of Culture for 2021.

Coventry wins a £3m arts grant, which the bid team said they planned to use to celebrate the city's "youth and diversity".

The title is also expected to attract further investment. Hull, this year's title-holder described the experience as "truly transformationall".

The gritters are out across the West Midlands this morning.

On the plus side, the Met Office says Storm Caroline has now passed and is currently bothering Norway, external.

Our region was barely affected, but parts of Scotland saw winds of 90mph, disrupting travel and shutting schools.

With warnings in place for ice and snow across the West Midlands today, it's already hit higher ground in Staffordshire and Cheshire, affecting several roads.

• The A53 Leek Road was closed for a time between the A54 Macclesfield Main Road and Mount Road.
• The A537 Cat & Fiddle Road in Macclesfield, Cheshire was closed for a time, but now passable with caution.
• This was the scene overnight on the main A6233 route at Tideswell, but snow has since been cleared.

Image source, Derbyshire Police

BBC Weather

We'll have a full video forecast for you in a little while, but let's have a look at what we can expect today.

It will be a cold and crisp start, with brisk northwesterly winds. Scattered snow showers are likely throughout the day.

These are likely to be heaviest and most frequent across the Peak District.

A yellow warning for snow and ice is in force right across the region today and throughout the weekend.

Occasional sunny spells are also expected between any showers. Maximum Temperature: 2C (36F)