Colin Briggs
Look North

The morning commute has turned into a mammoth test of patience for those people who who have taken to the roads, like those in Stockton (pictured).

At times the snow showers have turned into blizzard conditions with high winds and snow combining to reduce visibility to under 50 feet.

As we told you earlier, Stagecoach pulled all services in Sunderland saying conditions were horrendous. They'll restart when conditions improve.

A host of major roads are closed either by snow or accidents. The A1 is shut competely at Adderston in the north of Northumberland as a result of an incident involving two HGVs.

Some flights from Newcastle and Durham have been cancelled, but Newcastle is continuing to operate with snow clearing between showers keeping the runway open.

BBC Tees
www.bbc.co.uk/BBCTees

Our reporter has had to park up because the snow is so bad:

Colin George
BBC News Online

Redcar beach is looking very wintry this morning.

Have you got any photos you'd like to share with us? In that case you can tweet them to @BBCNewsNE, external, email them, or contact us via our Facebook page, external.

Colin George
BBC News Online

There are drifts more than a foot deep in Redcar this morning as you can see from this photo.

More than 100 schools are closed across the North East because of today's heavy snow.

Here are links to see them:

Newcastle school closures, external

Northumberland school closures, external

Gateshead school closures, external

Durham school closures, external

Darlington school closures, external

Middlesbrough school closures, external

Redcar and Cleveland School closures, external

North Tyneside school closures, external

Hartlepool school closures, external

Stockton school closures, external

It's not just Sunderland and South Tyneside causing problems for Stagecoach buses this morning - there are delays of up to 60 minutes on its Teesside services.

It's not just the roads that are experiencing difficulties today - Metro has announced it will not be operating peak services.

The list of schools closed today due to the bad weather is growing all the time. Durham County Council has just announced several more.

If you're going to be out on the roads today, take care as conditions are difficult in many places.

The Press Association's Owen Humphreys has been out and about in Whitley Bay and took this photo of a bus struggling through a snowstorm.

Image source, PA

Bad news if you were hoping to travel by bus in South Tyneside or Sunderland this morning - Stagecoach has announced it will not be running services due to the "horrendous road conditions".

Press Assocation photographer Owen Humphreys has tweeted this video showing the conditions at Whitley Bay were strong winds are whipping up the snow.

Darlington Council has announced dozens of schools in the town will be closed today:

Bishopton/Redmarshall CE Primary

Firthmoor Primary School (Academy)

Gurney Pease Academy

Heathfield Primary School (Academy)

Heighington CE Primary School

High Coniscliffe CE Primary School

Mowden Infant School

Mowden Junior School

Reid Street primary school

Skerne Park Academy

Springfield Academy

St Bede's RC VA Primary School

St George’s Church of England

St Mary’s Cockerton CE Primary

St Teresa's RC VA Primary School

Whinfield Primary School

Carmel College, A Catholic Academy

Haughton Academy

Hummersknott Academy

Hurworth School

West Park Academy

Wyvern Academy

Beaumont Hill Academy

Polam Hall School

Marchbank School

Already more than 50 schools across the North East have announced they will be closed today. Here's the list so far:

Tyne and Wear:

Bridgewater Primary School, Newcastle

Discovery School, Newcastle

Gosforth Central Middle School, Newcastle

Lemington Riverside Primary, Newcastle

Milecastle Primary School, Newcastle

Newburn Manor Nursery, Newcastle

Regent Farm First School, Newcastle

Sacred Heart High School, Newcastle

Simonside Primary School, Newcastle

St Cuthbert’s RC Primary School, Newcastle

St Paul’s CE Primary School, Newcastle

Trinity Academy (Deneview and Oakfield), Newcastle

Walker Technology College, Newcastle

Waverley Primary School, Newcastle

West Newcastle Academy

Brighton Avenue Primary, Gateshead

Kepier School, Houghton-le-Spring

Wellfield School, Whickham

St Robert of Newminster, Washington

Consett Junior School

Consett Infants

Beechdale Nursery School, Consett

Dunn Street Primary, Jarrow

Bamburgh School, South Shields

Epinay Business School, Jarrow

Chopwell Primary, Gateshead

Consett Academy

Portobello Primary, Birtley

Kells Lane Primary, Low Fell

St Joseph's Academy, Hebburn

Oxclose Community Academy, Washington

St Oswald's C of E Primary, Hebburn

St Wilfred's RC Primary, Gateshead

Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy, Birtley

Northumberland:

Nunnykirk Centre for Dyslexia, Netherwitton

Corbridge Middle School

St Benet Biscop Catholic Secondary, Bedlington

St Peter and Paul's Catholic Primary, Cramlington

James Calvert Spencer College, Amble

Acklington First School, Morpeth

Chantry Middle School, Morpeth

Newminster School, Morpeth

King Edward VI School, Morpeth

County Durham:

New Brancepeth Primary, Durham

Framwellgate Secondary School, Durham

Collierley Primary School, Dipton

North Durham Academy

Woodham Academy, Newton Aycliffe

UTC South Durham, Newton Aycliffe

Heathfield Primary School, Darlington

Teesside:

Sacred Heart Secondary, Redcar

King's Academy, Coulby

St Mary's Primary, Grangetown

St. Peter's, Southbank

St Teresa's Primary, Hartlepool

Nunthorpe Academy Secondary School

Teesville Primary School, Eston

Colin Briggs
Look North

On Teesside, the A19 northbound is closed at the Portrack junction after an incident, and Highways England said the A66 in Durham is closed between the A1M and the A685.

Power cuts are affecting 190 homes in Hebburn and Jarrow areas of South Tyneside. Northern Power Grid says it's hoping to have electricity restored by 07:30.

On the public transport front, Virgin East Coast experienced power supply problems early this morning in the Newcastle area but that's expected to have only a minor impact on services.

Major problems, though, for Aberdeen air services. Durham Tees Valley has lost both its services this morning while Newcastle's early outbound flight has been shelved as has the return. Durham's Amsterdam flight has fallen foul of the weather while BA made an early decision to cancel its late morning Heathrow service.

The A1 is closed southbound around junction 52 between Scotch Corner and Catterick after a lorry jackknifed earlier.

The Durham Roads Policing Unit has tweeted this photo which shows the disruption.

Colin Briggs
Look North

There's been more snow overnight and plenty more is expected through the day.

In many places it will be heavier and more prolonged than yesterday and where it does fall there will almost inevitably be widespread disruption.

Daytime temperatures are unlikely to reach positive territory almost anywhere and that, coupled with brisk winds, will take the chill factor down to double figures at times.

Welcome to Local Live. Once again, we're joining you a little earlier this morning as snow has blanketed much of the region.

We'll be with you throughout the day to bring you the latest news, sport and travel updates - and of course we'll have plenty on the weather.

Have you got any photos you'd like to share with us? In that case you can tweet them to @BBCNewsNE, external, email them, or contact us via our Facebook page, external.