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Spring may be just around the corner but there has been wintry weather for many in the UK this week.

It's because of Arctic air sweeping in from the north, bringing heavy snow, ice and falling temperatures.

Forecasters have issued two amber weather warnings for parts places like North Wales, Leeds and Sheffield, while a yellow weather warning is still in place for most of the UK.

Further snow is expected in the North of England and Scotland.

While it may look pretty, the snow has caused a lot of travel disruption overnight.

Some people even got stuck on a motorway around Greater Manchester and had to sleep in their cars.

Roads further south also had to be closed overnight to avoid a similar situation for other motorists.

In Northern Ireland, a number of homes have been left without power and ferry crossings have been cancelled due to the weather.

People are being asked to take care when driving in icy conditions and work from home if possible while the cold weather lasts.

Hundreds of schools have had to close and more disruption is expected - although it looks like things will be back to normal for most of you by the start of next week.

The UK Health Security Agency also issued cold weather alerts for the whole of England this week.

It encourages people to stay warm and look out for those most at risk during cold weather.

Temperatures fell quickly across the whole country because of a change in wind direction.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Weather's Jennifer Bartram says the cold spell is due to "northerly winds bringing cold air down from the Arctic".

She said although it was not unusual to have snow and cold weather at the start of March, "this feels like a bit of a shock to the system after what was a mild and relatively dry February for most".

In some areas there could be lots of snow, with predictions of up to 40cm in some areas of central and northern England.

It has been very cold with the UK's coldest March night recorded in the Scottish Highlands, temperatures there dropping to a very chilly -16C.

The snowy conditions have meant lots of schools have had to close already and many might stay closed again on Friday.

Hundreds of schools have been shut in Wales after about 10cm (4in) of snow fell on Wednesday.

Many will remain closed as a yellow warning for snow and ice is also in place for much of Wales until mid afternoon on Friday.

Around 250 schools have been closed because of snow in the West Midlands.

Some schools in Scotland had snow days earlier in the week after heavy snow and there are warnings of continuing icy conditions.

The cold snap is likely to last at least until Friday as the amber weather warnings remain in place.

There may also be some more snow in some areas overnight on Saturday.

It is forecast that temperatures will start to increase after the weekend with milder weather expected next week.