Dorset Snow: New weather warnings for ice after day of winter chaos

Dorset is recovering after a barrage of snow hit the county today.

In the north of the county and The Blackmore Vale, snow started falling at around 3am, while in coastal area, the onslaught began at around 6am.

Roads were closed across the county including the A35 between Dorchester and Bridport after a lorry jack-knifed.

The road was re-opened this afternoon, but police are warning motorists to take care, and only to drive if necessary.

A host of Dorset schools were closed, giving children across Dorset an early weekend.

Dorset County Council, along with Poole Borough Council and Bournemouth Council have been busy gritting roads - allowing peope to travel safely.

Earlier, a gritter from Bournemouth Council unbelievably overheated, despite dealing with freezing temperatures.

Poole Council are busy recovering broken branches across the town. Over 20 trees broke due to the weight of snow - becoming hazardous for drivers.

A wonderful story emerged today from Swanage, as Sinead Mellor gave birth after battling through the snow.

Although the snow is clearing, temperatures are expected to drop overnight. The Met Office has issued a weather warning for ice tomorrow.

Although gritting teams are working around the clock, motorists are still being urged to take care overnight and tomorrow.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "The focus switches to ice, with sub-zero temperatures persisting over existing snow cover for many areas and spreading back into parts of the southwest towards daybreak on Saturday.

"The public should be aware of the risk of localised disruption to transport during this spell of wintry weather."

Take a look at our live updates of how today's snow disruption unfolded.

Have a look at all our photo galleries of snow across Dorset.