Early Snowstorm Cripples Great Britain

Britain's worst November snowfall for decades shut schools and roads from Cornwall to Scotland as forecasters warned that Siberian winds could bring temperatures go below zero F in the coming days.

Snow and freezing conditions in the North East and Scotland were causing widespread travel disruption today, with icy temperatures everywhere else creating similar problems for commuters.

There is no sign of a let-up in the wintry weather, with bitter winds increasing and more parts of the UK including London facing snow in the coming days.

So far Scotland and the North East have been worst hit by snow, with more than a foot or more in parts, and police have advised people to stay indoors for all but essential travel.

Forecasters warned the rest of the country is likely to be blanketed this week as the weather front moves west.

The severe conditions could also last well into next week, with rain, sleet and snow.

A spokesman said: "Conditions are horrendous and we would urge caution."

All schools in Dundee, West Lothian and Shetland were closed this morning.

Across York and North Yorkshire, around 50 schools were forced to close this morning.

Several schools in East Yorkshire also closed for the day.

Driving was described as hazardous across many parts of Yorkshire as more snow began to fall.

Snow Storm Hits Minnesota and Wisconsin

The Upper Midwest dug out from a heavy snowfall Saturday that caused more than 400 traffic accidents in Minnesota, and wintry conditions also were being blamed for a collision in northern Wisconsin that killed two people.

Nearly a foot of snow had fallen in parts of the Twin Cities area by Saturday evening, downing trees and causing sporadic power outages.

The storm that began late Friday night was blamed for a collision Saturday morning that killed both drivers and left a passenger hospitalized. The sheriff's department in Wisconsin's Bayfield County said the storm produced "rapidly deteriorating road conditions" that likely contributed to the crash.

The Minnesota State Patrol responded to 401 crashes as of 4 p.m, with 45 of them involving minor injuries, Patrol Capt. Matt Langer said. There were no other immediate reports of fatalities or major injuries.

The storm dumped 11 inches of snow in parts of Eden Prairie, Minn., and 10 inches in the Forest Lake and Mankato areas, said Todd Krause, a federal meteorologist in Minneapolis. The major snowfall activity ended by early afternoon, and Sunday's forecast looked milder, he said.

"People will still see snowflakes across much of Minnesota (on Sunday) but it won't be adding up to anything," he said.

The snow in both states wasn't expected to stick around for long. Recent warm weather meant the ground is still relatively warm, meteorologists said, and temperatures are expected to be in the mid- to high 30s for the next few days.  Such is weather in the Midwest.

Hurricane Tomas Hits Haiti

Hurricane Tomas was downgraded to a tropical storm early Saturday as it passed over the Turks and Caicos Islands, losing steam a day after battering seaside towns in Haiti.

Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Haiti, the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, the southeastern Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, although the warnings for Haiti and the Dominican Republic were likely to be downgraded later Saturday morning, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported.

Coming ashore at Haiti's far southwestern edge, Tomas slammed the coastline with 85-mph winds that killed at least four people with storm surge and rains.

It then flooded camps harboring earthquake refugees, turning some into squalid islands in Leogane, a town west of the capital that lost 90 percent of its buildings and thousands of people in the Jan. 12 quake. Two people were missing in the city.

Tomas turned streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, into canals of flowing garbage. The storm largely spared the city's vast homeless encampments, however, allaying fears that an estimated 1.3 million displaced people would suffer from high winds and rain on hillsides and in parks and streets.

Tropical Storm/Hurricane Richard on the Move

With maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, Richard was centred about 95 miles east of Belize City, said the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Wind and rain from the 10th storm of the hurricane season have already battered Honduras' Caribbean coast.

Richard is moving north-west at about 12mph.  The Miami-based NHC forecasts it will cross Belize and southeastern Mexico later on Sunday, crossing the Yucatan peninsula before reaching the south-western Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday.

Mexican fishermen have already been evacuating the Yucatan peninsula.

A hurricane warning is in effect for the west coasts of Belize and Honduras.

The NHC warned a storm surge would raise water levels along the northern coasts of Belize and Honduras by as much as five feet, adding that this would be accompanied by "large and destructive waves".

Honduras could expect up to two inches of rain.

Remains of Tropical Storm Nicole Head up East Coast

A storm system moving up the East Coast soaked parts of North Carolina on Thursday, caused soggy morning commutes in the Northeast and prompted worries of flooding as far north as Maine.

Tornado watches were issued from North Carolina to New Jersey.

In North Carolina, the nearly 21 inches collected in Wilmington since rain started falling Sunday topped Hurricane Floyd's five-day mark of 19 inches set in 1999, the National Weather Service said.

Farther north, parts of eastern Virginia were under flash flood warnings. The National Weather Service also issued a tornado watch for 33 eastern Virginia counties and 21 cities, including Richmond, Williamsburg, Arlington and the Hampton Roads area.

Flash flood watches were also in effect for areas in Maryland, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.

In southeastern North Carolina, about 9 inches of rain fell at the Sunny Point military terminal in Brunswick County between midnight and 6 a.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service in Wilmington reported.

The downpour came as a low pressure system from the west mixed with the remnants of Tropical Storm Nicole. Nicole dissipated over the Straits of Florida on Wednesday and its remaining rainbands were expected to remain mainly offshore while tracking northward.