At least one person has died as high winds brought chaos to parts of the UK, forcing closures on bridges, motorways and ports across the country

The fatality occurred on the M6 in Cumbria, where emergency services dealt with a spate of accidents in winds gusting up to 70mph.

A long stretch of the motorway was closed between Kirkby Lonsdale and Shap as lorries were swept over in the wind.

Wintry weather appeared to be returning with a vengeance, with blizzards and snow showers expected to hit Scotland, north Wales, and parts of England tomorrow. Motorists have been warned to beware of icy road conditions over the weekend.

The bitter Arctic gales and rain threaten to bring more misery to areas already hit by flooding earlier in the month.

Earlier today, bad weather conditions and gusts of up to 60mph forced the Port of Dover to close to shipping movements at 8.20am.

A spokeswoman said: “The port has been closed in the interests of safety because of the high winds. We would ask passengers expected to travel to first contact their operator for further details.”

In Scotland, there was travel chaos as gusts of up to 80mph blew in. The busy Forth Road Bridge was closed to northbound traffic after a lorry overturned in high winds, and no high-sided vehicles were allowed across.

Restrictions were in place on the Tay and Erskine bridges, and further north there were also warnings on the Skye and Kessock bridges.

As temperatures plummet over the coming days, forecasters said that overnight temperatures in Scotland could reach “minus double figures”. Generally in England and Wales, they are set to hit a low of around -3C (26.6F) tomorrow night.<QA1>

A forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, said: “A pretty biting northerly wind will be coming in with the low temperature, adding to the wind chill factor."

The cold snap will mark a significant change after a mild January, but forecasters say it will be short-lived, with a return to milder conditions by the start of next week.

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