Britons have been battling the first snow of the season this week, with icy conditions sparking school closures and travel chaos across the country.

The Met Office issued a yellow warning for ice for much of southern England, the Midlands and eastern Wales from 5pm on Tuesday to 10am on Wednesday.

Several other warnings for snow and ice have been in place across the UK, with the Met Office warning that vehicles could be stranded, power cuts could occur and rural areas may be cut off.

There were snow showers on Tuesday evening, continuing overnight into Wednesday morning, as an Arctic airmass affected Britain’s weather.

In some areas it could reach up to 10cm or more over higher ground on Wednesday, and ice is expected to form on untreated surfaces.

Southern Rail said overrunning engineering works at South Croydon would affect early-morning trains between East Croydon and Uckfield/East Grinstead.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “We’ve had a fairly mild November so far. So it’ll feel like that first taste of winter for many with that snow and ice risk layered on top.

“The highest accumulations are likely over the mountains in Scotland, where over higher ground you could see around 20cm of snow through this week accumulating on the ground.

“They are not necessarily the most disruptive snowfalls, but it only takes a couple of centimetres on lower ground to cause some level of travel disruption.”

More than 200 school closures were reported on Tuesday as a result of weather disruption.

There was 12cm of snow at Watnall, Nottinghamshire, on Tuesday morning.

The coldest temperature was recorded at Braemar village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with the mercury falling to -11.2°C on Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

Thousands of train passengers saw their journeys disrupted on Tuesday morning and ice led to a Stagecoach bus in Aberdeenshire toppling onto its side with a passenger on board.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued the first amber cold weather health alert of the season, warning conditions could be dangerous for vulnerable people, including the elderly.

The amber warning covers the east and north of England, the Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber, with yellow alerts coming into place for the South East, South West and London until 6pm on Saturday.

Met Office chief meteorologist Neil Armstrong said: “With cold Arctic air firmly in place over the UK, continued winter hazards are likely through much of this week, with further updates to warnings likely in the coming days.”

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow and ice along the east coast of Scotland and England from Berwickshire to Suffolk from 6pm on Tuesday to midday on Wednesday.

A yellow warning for snow and ice has also been issued for Northern Ireland from 6pm on Tuesday to 10am on Wednesday. Police in Northern Ireland urged those on the roads to “drive with extra caution while we experience the freezing temperatures as forecast”.

A warning is also in place across most of Wales and parts of the West Midlands until 10am on Wednesday, and there are snow and ice warnings in place covering the north of Scotland until 10am on Wednesday and parts of western Scotland from 7pm on Tuesday to 10am on Wednesday.

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The Met Office said cold northerly winds will continue through the week across much of the UK, with further warnings likely.

It added that temperatures are likely to rise, starting from the south-west, this weekend, but this will come with strong winds and heavy rain.

The Alzheimer’s Society warned that cold weather can be “particularly challenging” for people with dementia.

“Colder temperatures can be difficult for a person with dementia to adjust to, and they may not always be able to communicate that they are cold – or they may not even recognise it themselves,” the charity said.

Another charity, Asthma + Lung UK, urged those with lung conditions to be “extra careful”. It warned that cold weather can trigger potentially life-threatening asthma attacks or “flare-ups” for people with other lung conditions.