More sleet and snow could be on its way to Somerset today after a chaotic night which saw crashes, road blockages and hundreds of motorists stranded.
Several inches of snow fell within a few hours over many parts of the county yesterday afternoon, and conditions are even more hazardous this morning after freezing temperatures overnight.
Drivers are being advised to avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary this morning.
Light snow and sleet is forecast across various parts of Somerset until around 9pm today, including Taunton. Other parts of the county will see rain and fog.
A yellow weather warning of ice is in place until midday in Somerset, and of snow from midday until midnight.
The snow warning has this morning been downgraded from amber.
Temperatures are set to linger around the 1-2C mark, but the Met Office warns it could feel as cold as -2C. A flood warning has been issued in Lower Frome, from East Stoke to Wareham.
A number of Bridgwater residents have turned to social networking site Twitter to discuss the snow. One user tweeted the area was looking very white, and more snow appeared to be falling.
Meanwhile Twitter users in Norton Fitzwarren, Taunton, said snow was falling heavily again, with around 5cm lying on untrodden surfaces.
The white stuff is understood to be falling in Shepton Mallet this morning, and some Twitter users in Wellington said they awoke to 11cm of snow.
Another yellow warning of ice is in place from 3am until midday tomorrow. A cold and cloudy afternoon looks set to follow.
There are currently no weather warnings in place for Friday, although Somerset is expected to see rain for much of the afternoon. Wind gusts of up to 33mph are forecast.
Temperatures could reach highs of 8C on Saturday.
Melting snow could pose a local flood threat in the West Country over the weekend, BBC Points West weatherman Ian Fergusson has warned.
The weatherman this morning tweeted: "By Sat into Sun, we will see spells of heavy rain & v windy weather for all districts. Rapid snow thaw & rain = local flood threat".
He earlier tweeted: "As many on Twitter will attest, conditions in many parts of W Country last eve/night were atrocious & dangerous. Amber was wholly justified". UPDATE 11.30AM:
The Met Office has removed a yellow weather warning of ice in Somerset.
Earlier today a yellow warning of ice was in place until midday today, alongside a yellow snow warning from midday until midnight.
Now, however, there is only a yellow warning of snow from midday to midnight.
A yellow warning of ice due to come into force tomorrow between 3am and midnight remains. UPDATE 11.50AM:
First Bus is reporting a number of service disruptions in Wells, Frome, Yeovil and Weston-super-Mare. To find out more, click here. UPDATE 11.58AM:
Snow is falling in Taunton. Another inch has fallen in the past hour.
Meanwhile there is a small number of abandoned cars on the A39 around Chewton Mendip.
Snowfall has also been reported in Weston-super-Mare this morning. UPDATE 12.28PM:
Liscombe in Somerset has appeared in the Met Office list of UK snow depths, with 8cm recorded.
Little Rissington in Gloucestershire has the highest snow depth so far this year, with 30 cm recorded. UPDATE 12.43PM:
Bishop Fox's secondary school in Taunton is closing at 12.30pm. Students will not be released without parental consent, so parents are advised to call or email the school ASAP.
Meanwhile nine inches of snow has fallen at the top of Buncombe Hill near Broomfield and cars are skidding, according to Twitter. UPDATE 12.50PM:
A yellow weather warning of rain has been issued for Somerset on both Friday and Sunday.
The warning, which urges the public to be aware of localised flooding of low-lying fields, recreational land and car parks, as well as flooding of a small number of homes and businesses, has been issued between 3am and midnight on Friday, and from 3am to midnight on Sunday.
Showers are expected from around midday on Friday until the early hours of Saturday. By 6pm the rain is forecast to make a return, falling in varying degrees for 24 hours.
The Met Office predicts wet road surfaces and warns of the possibility of ponding water, especially in known trouble spots.
There may also be local travel disruption, including longer journey times. Motorists are urged to drive according to the conditions encountered. UPDATE 2.25PM:
The Met Office has reissued a yellow weather warning of ice in Somerset today.
The warning, which was in place but removed mid-morning today, has been reissued between 6pm on Wednesday and midday on Thursday.
A yellow warning of snow remains in place until midnight today.
Light snowfall is forecast in parts of Somerset in the coming hours. A flurry is predicted from 6pm in Bridgwater, Wells, Frome and Weston-super-Mare, and sleet is forecast in Minehead and Taunton from around 3pm. UPDATE 3.15PM:
Snow is settling in Minehead, according to a number of residents using social networking site Twitter. UPDATE 3.40PM:
Sleet could turn to snow in some parts of Somerset later today, the Met Office has said.
In its latest update, the Met Office predicts an afternoon of sleet in Taunton, followed by light snow from 9pm to around midnight.
Meanwhile a flurry of the white stuff is on the cards in Weston-super-Mare from around 3pm, set to turn to sleet at around 6pm.
A heavy bout of snow is forecast in Minehead this afternoon, set to turn into sleet at around 6pm. UPDATE 4.20PM:
There could yet be hours more snow in Somerset today, with the possibility of 5cm or more settling.
That is according to BBC Points West weatherman Ian Fergusson. The weatherman tweeted: "SOMERSET Outbreaks of heavy snow will continue in a convergence zone Exeter N across M5 to Quantocks area: few more hrs is poss here (=5cm+)". UPDATE 4.25PM:
First Bus is to stop all usual Somerset evening services early tonight, amid bad weather.
On its website the operator said: "Following last nights massive problems in Somerset where many buses became stranded, and with freezing temperatures forecast tonight, we have taken the decision to stop all usual Somerset evening services early tonight (Wednesday 23 Jan).
"Other areas will continue to run as in the timetables. This is the list of last evening journeys for this evening in Somerset only:
Somerset last service departures 23 January.
21 from Taunton to Bridgwater only 20:00.
21 from Taunton to Bridgwater only 20:20.
21 from Burnham to Bridgwater only 20:06.
28 from Taunton to Minehead 20:00.
22 from Taunton to Wellington 19:50.
22 from Wellington to Taunton 20:28.
"In other areas we will continue to run the buses across the network for as long as we can, providing it is safe to do so.
"At the end of the day your safety, and that of our staff and other road users has to take priority - so if services are suspended it is for this reason, and this reason alone."
