The Army was mobilised yesterday to rescue stricken drivers as heavy snow and high winds wreaked havoc on motorways, cut power to 15,000 homes and caused more than 300 schools to close across Scotland and northern England.

As blizzards moved in from the Atlantic yesterday morning, up to 70 drivers became trapped when a snowfall closed a main road near Blackburn. Soldiers from B Company 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment struggled through the snow to help them.

About 15,000 homes in the North East and Yorkshire lost power, with 9,000 remaining cut off throughout the day. Heavy winds caused drifts on roads and railways across the Pennines, and as much as 20cm (7in) of snow was recorded in the Durham Dales.

Pupils in Greater Manchester woke to news that 100 schools in the area had to close because of the snow, with 70 schools following suit in Lancashire, 34 in Cumbria, 70 in Co Durham and 33 in Northumberland.

Southern areas, including London, saw bright skies turn to heavy showers, but no snow reached the capital, as forecasters had said was possible.

Yesterday’s snowfall was not the first this year but it was the heaviest, and there will be more to come. Areas of the North West and North East of England and parts of Scotland can expect snow and sleet to return, though it will not be as heavy. The snow and sleet tomorrow should be confined to the higher ground in northern England and Scotland, with Wales and the South West becoming windy with showers easing off later. It will be mostly dry elsewhere, with possible gales in Cornwall.

Stephen Holman, of the Met Office, said that the biggest danger would be from ice on the roads. “We have issued weather warnings in the areas which saw snow, because the main hazard is that, where the snow has partially thawed, it will be refreezing, but there won’t be much in the way of fresh snow,” he said.