Snow and ice warnings in place as thousands still without power

The UK is bracing for widespread ice and freezing temperatures on Saturday as tens of thousands of people remain without power.

Storm Goretti has brought heavy snow, ice and strong winds to the UK in the past two days, with further severe weather forecast.

Police confirmed the death of a man whose body was found after a tree fell onto a caravan in Cornwall on Thursday evening. The county had been subject to a rare red weather alart warning for wind at the time.

More than 34,000 premises are still without electricity in the South West and thousands more across the Midlands and Wales. The National Grid said it was working “tirelessly” to fix the issue and had restored power to almost 170,000 properties.

It said approximately 2,000 premises in the West Midlands, more than 1,000 in the East Midlands and 130 in Wales were among those still affected.

The MP for St Austell and Newquay, Noah Law, said in a post on Facebook that properties across mid Cornwall were expected to face “electricity issues” until Sunday.

Yellow weather warnings for snow and ice covering most of the country are in place until Saturday afternoon, while a more severe amber warning for snow has been issued in parts of Scotland for Sunday.

Cornwall Council said the storm had been “one of the most severe storms” the county had experienced in living memory, with crews working around the clock to clear fallen trees and carry out emergency repairs.

Tia White, 17, said the storm had blown the roof and chimney off her family home on Thursday night.

“We looked in the conservatory and the chimney had fallen off the top of the house onto the roof of the conservatory and smashed through,” she told BBC Newsbeat of her home in St Buryan, near Lands End.

St Michael’s Mount, an island near Penzance, lost approximately 80% of its trees on Thursday night.

Temperatures hit -8.1C in Loch Glascarnoch, Scotland overnight into Saturday, while Northern Ireland recorded its coldest night of the season so far, at -7.C in Katesbridge.

But it may be the last truly cold night for a while as, from Sunday, milder weather is expected to start pushing in as low pressure brings wet and windy weather.

There may be a spell of snow, but in most places this will not last long before turning back to rain.

The snow will last longest in north-eastern areas, and especially over high ground, threatening some disruption for a time.

By the afternoon, temperatures in the south west are expected to reach 12C (53.6F), while staying quite cold in the north east.

The milder weather will move across the whole of the UK by Monday.