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Gary Parsons, Cumbria Bay Search and Rescue: "We've got 15ft snow drifts"
Snow, sleet and rain have disrupted transport and power supplies as wintry weather continues in much of the UK.
A number of roads and airports have closed, with many of the weekend's sporting fixtures affected too.
Snow is falling across central and northern parts of the country and it is expected to spread to the South and South East of England.
A Met Office yellow weather warning, urging people to be aware of adverse conditions, covers most of England.
It comes after snow fell on Friday, disrupting travel, schools and power supplies across parts of the UK.
Friday's weather saw hundreds of schools closed across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
In Belfast, more than 200,000 electricity customers were affected by a blackout.
Winter weather in spring
- Caused by persistent easterly winds from frozen continental Europe which have chilled North Sea to 4C or 5C
- Average temperature is currently around 3C - normally should be nearer 6C
- Coldest March on record was in 1962 with a mean temperature of 1.9C, which will not be beaten this year
- Could be colder than the more recent cold March of 1987 with a mean temperature of 3.3C
- Forecasters say the cold could hang on until the bitter end of March
Northern Ireland Electricity said that at one stage the blackout swept across the whole of Belfast after an issue with the high voltage transmission network.
All but about 35,000 properties had had power restored by late evening, it added.
It blamed high winds, cable icing and trees bringing down lines and breaking poles.
About 70 motorists were rescued after becoming stuck in snow drifts in Cumbria late on Friday.
Police and mountain rescue teams, including the Bay Search and Rescue Team, helped people stuck on the A595, taking them to an evacuation centre set up at a school.
Gary Parsons, of Bay Search and Rescue, said he had never seen conditions like it before: "They were all sort of a little bit chilly and shaken. I think they'd been there for a few hours and the snow came down so fast and it was driven by the wind - that was the big factor."
He said that although there was only about a foot of snow across the flat fields, "where the hedges and the walls have been it's just built up and up and up to get to that sort of height of 14 and 15ft."
For Saturday, the Met Office warned that there was "continued risk of significant disruption" from snow.
Its warning covered many central parts of the UK and involved a slow-moving band of rain, sleet and snow.
It said further significant snowfall was likely to accumulate on hills, with continued drifting and blizzard conditions in strong south-easterly winds.
At lower levels, some areas could see a further 5-10cm (2in to 4in) of snow, though exact location remain "very uncertain at this stage", it said.
Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to a woman who died after a landslip caused her house in Looe, Cornwall to collapse.
The landslip happened after torrential rain.
There have been a number of developments across the UK.
- Trains are not operating between Leeds and Carlisle until further notice. And a bus service is replacing trains between Ardrossan South Beach and Largs due to rail disruption
- Northern Ireland police warned of road closures due to snow, stranded vehicles and fallen trees
- Search and rescue teams led stranded motorists to safety in Cumbria overnight after deep snowdrifts made roads impassable
- In Staffordshire, overnight snow and high winds brought down trees and closing roads, as well as forcing the closure of Alton Towers and Drayton Manor theme parks
- Flights are currently not operating at Leeds Bradford airport - passengers are advised to check with their airline or tour operator before arriving at the airport
- All flights at Humberside Airport have been cancelled due to snow and East Midlands Airport remains closed
- The Highways Agency said the snow forecast for northern England, the Midlands and the East of England meant motorists should take extra care when travelling
- In Scotland, weather warnings had also prompted police and road authorities to warn drivers to take care, particularly in Lothian and Borders, Tayside, Grampian and Highlands and Western Isles
- Residents of Arran have been warned that they may be without power for up to three days, prompting Scottish Hydro to send a portable generator to the island
- More than 3,000 homes in north Wales are without power following another night of snow
- Scunthorpe United have appealed for fans to help clear snow from the Glanford Park stadium ahead of a game against Doncaster Rovers
- Snow across the UK has disrupted the weekend's sporting schedule.
By late on Friday, power companies said a total of 14,000 customers in Scotland were left without power.
In Argyll, 10,000 households have been affected, as was Bute, with more cut off in south-west Scotland.
Police also said motorists should avoid travelling by road in the Dumfries and Galloway area because conditions were "extremely dangerous".
The prolonged cold snap has sparked fears that the UK will run out of stored gas, but the National Grid has said there is "plenty of gas available", and the Department of Energy and Climate Change has said gas needs are being met.
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