PA MediaAn Arctic blast has forced hundreds of schools to stay shut in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with widespread snow and ice causing delays throughout Monday to road, rail and air travel.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place across much of the country, with a warning of more widespread snow later this week.
Sunday had the coldest night of the winter so far for England and Wales, with Shap in Cumbria experiencing -10.9C.
Cold weather payments have been triggered for hundreds of thousands of people across in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Pupils have been unable to return to their classrooms after the Christmas break in many parts of northern Scotland such as Aberdeenshire, Shetland and Orkney, where schools will remain shut on Tuesday.
Aberdeen City Council has said some schools, with staff living nearby, will be able to reopen.
In Moray closures are being announced by schools themselves, on a school by school basis.
In Wales, schools have been shut in Gwynedd, Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Bridgend county, Caerphilly and Pembrokeshire.
The school gates also remain closed at more than 170 schools across Northern Ireland.
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ReutersFlights were grounded at Liverpool John Lennon Airport after its runway had to be closed due to snow and ice.
Emily Ashall from Widnes was supposed to be flying to Berlin from there at 06:00 GMT but her flight was eventually cancelled, despite passengers initially boarding the plane.
She told the that the airport had been “packed to the brim” before it was announced that no flights had been able to arrive or leave on Monday morning.
“It’s a terrible situation but it is what it is,” she added.
The airport reopened its runway had reopened by mid-afternoon but said that “flights are however subject to delay or cancellation”.
Flights have been cancelled at Belfast International Airport while the runway at the City of Derry Airport is also closed to clear snow and ice.
PA MediaEurostar trains from King’s Cross St Pancras have also been unable to reach the Netherlands due to the poor weather.
Passengers travelling between London, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam are being advised to postpone their journey.
“Please don’t come to the station if your train is shown as cancelled,” a statement said on the Eurostar website.
“We regret that trains that can run will be subject to severe delays and possible last-minute cancellations.”
This follows Eurostar services being hit after a power supply problem caused significant disruption in the Channel Tunnel last week, leaving thousands struggling to travel ahead of New Year’s Eve.
Heavy snow is still causing disruption to trains across northern Scotland, with Network Rail Scotland warning “exceptionally deep snow and severe weather conditions” are limiting the progress of its snow ploughs.
LNER has advised anyone travelling between Edinburgh and Aberdeen not to travel until 14:00 GMT Tuesday.
Severe weather is also affecting services in Wales and trains are disrupted between Wales and Manchester Piccadilly as well as between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Stagecoach has suspended all bus services in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire until further notice “in the interest of driver and passenger safety”.
In Shropshire, firefighters trudged through half a mile of snow in the dark to deal with a chimney fire.
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said a crew from Ellesmere was was called to a house near Oswestry on Sunday night and access was “extremely challenging”.
Richard SmithCold weather payments are how being applied to hundreds of thousands of people across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A payment of £25 is paid to a household on certain benefits for each seven consecutive day period when the average temperature in a local area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0C or below.
The money is paid automatically into a bank account within 14 days to those eligible.
Cold Arctic air will remain across all parts of the UK on Monday.
Further snow showers are expected for areas exposed to the northerly winds, especially northern Scotland, Northern Ireland, west Wales, south-west England and parts of eastern England.
The Met Office has also issued a fresh yellow weather warning for most of Scotland which runs into Tuesday.
Additional reporting by Rozina Sini and Kevin Peachey.