Fresh warnings for snow and ice have been issued across much of the UK this week as Storm Goretti approaches.

The Met Office has issued a yellow ice warning for almost the entire country on Wednesday, as well as a snow warning for parts of England and Wales on Thursday and Friday.

The wintry conditions later this week will be driven by Goretti, which has been named as the first storm of the yearby French forecasters.

Hundreds of schools were closed in multiple parts of the UK on Tuesday due to the snow, after the country recorded its coldest night of the winter so far with a low of -12.5C (9.5F) recorded in Marham, Norfolk.

Some 384 schools have been shut in Wales, at least 320 in Scotland, 186 in Northern Ireland and than 100 in England.

Delays and cancellations on the rail network have continued on Tuesday. London North Eastern Railway (LNER) which has advised people not to travel between Edinburgh and Aberdeen, adding that there was “major disruption” across its network.

Train services in northern Scotland would be subject to short-notice delays, cancellations and overcrowding until the end of the day on Tuesday, National Rail said.

Eurostar has listed delays and cancellations on some of its Amsterdam services,with the Dutch capital seeing widespread rail and flight disruption due to heavy snow along with other areas of Europe.

CalMac Ferries said services on the west coast of Scotland would be disrupted throughout the day. A number of main roads were blocked in Wales on Tuesday morning.

Parts of northern Scotland will remain under amber warnings for snow until 19:00 GMT on Tuesday, with between 5cm and 10cm widely forecast.

The amber warning indicates there is a higher risk of travel disruption, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property, with people advised to take precautions, the Met Office says.

Less severe yellow warnings covering much of the UK expired on Tuesday morning, but forecasters say disruptive weather is still to come. Snow was falling as far south as central London by Tuesday afternoon.

The cold blast does not seem to be coming to an end anytime soon.

A Met Office yellow warning for wind has been issued for south-west England on Thursday between 15:00 and midnight, with gusts of 50-60mph, and occasionally 70mph on the coast.

Later on Thursday evening, as Storm Goretti passes along the English Channel, heavy rain will spread up from the south as it meets the colder air and turn to snow.

Up to 20cm is forecast to fall in parts of England and Wales on Thursday night and Friday.

The yellow warning runs from 18:00 on Thursday until 12:00 on Friday, covering central and southern England and Wales.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued amber cold health alerts for England which will run until Sunday.

The wintry conditions have triggered the government’s cold weather payments across 451 postcodes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Under the scheme, households on certain benefits receive £25 automatically if the temperature is their local area is recorded or forecast as 0C or below for seven consecutive days.