Wales snow: Warning of ice after day of disruption

Roads and pavements were gritted in the centre of Cardiff

Motorists are being warned of icy roads after plunging temperatures froze heavy snow that fell across Wales on Friday.

Gritters have been out in force across the country overnight to keep the main highways clear, but many side roads remain untreated.

Public transport operators say they are hoping to resume "near normal" services throughout Saturday.

The last of the 10,000 homes in west, south and north Wales that were left without electricity now have power.

Travel problems are still widespread though with many main roads treacherous and some remaining completely blocked.

The M48 Severn Bridge remains closed in both directions because of the snow while one lane is closed in both directions on the M4 second Severn Crossing.

The Penderyn, Maerdy, Bwlch and Rhigos roads all remain closed and are not expected to open until Monday at the earliest. Others that are closed include:

• A4075 in Carew, Pembrokeshire, because of flooding.

• In Powys, the A4215 at Libanus, the A487 at Derwenlas, the A481 at Llanelwedd and the A44 at Crossgates because of ice and snow.

• A542 Horseshoe Pass in Llangollen, Denbighshire.

The A4212 at Trawsfynydd, Gwynedd has now re-opened.

First Cymru say bus services across south Wales are running to "near normal" timetables except in Bridgend and Maesteg areas where there is some disruption.

Lloyds Coaches which serves Powys said all of its services were operating as normal.

On the railway, First Great Western and Arriva Trains Wales services are operating normally, as is Cardiff Airport and ferry services from Pembrokeshire and Holyhead.

The Met Office rare red warning for snow and blizzards in part of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains is no longer in force, with the worst of the snow having now fallen in this area.

The warning advised people to avoid any non-essential travel. An amber warning for much of the rest of the country has also been lifted.

However, yellow "be aware" warnings for ice are in place across much of Wales over the weekend.

BBC Wales weather presenter Owain Wyn Evans warned ice could remain on roads and pavements for several days as temperatures remained low.

"It will be a mainly dry day across Wales, especially this morning, and we could see some breaks in the cloud over the next few hours or so especially further west, while the east of the country is likely to stay quite grey," he said.

"There is a risk of further snowfall with Powys and parts of north Wales probably the areas most likely to see more snow this afternoon, but we could see widespread snow showers.

"Tonight it's very likely to freeze again and tomorrow looks relatively similar to today - cloudy, cold with the odd snow shower."

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is urging staff working over the weekend to try and make their own way in to work if they live locally because its 4x4 transport is at full stretch.

And fans helped to clear snow from the pitch at the Arms Park ahead of the Cardiff Blues Heineken Cup rugby match against Sale.

Fans were also at Rodney Parade to help get Newport County's football match against Barrow on.

On Friday, 1,388 schools around the country were shut with some secondary schools remaining open only for pupils sitting exams while many universities and colleges were also closed because of the weather.