News Shopper snow updates and pictures from January 18 (From News Shopper)

5:17pm

Our live feed for today has been running since 7am and we're going to bring it to an end here. Thanks to everyone whose comments/tweets and pictures we've used. We hope our updates have helped in some small way to make your day a little better or easier.

We've got reporters in over the weekend bringing you more weather and travel updates, so make sure you stop by News Shopper for the latest info.

More bad weather is forecast over the weekend and into the early part of next week so of course if things are bad on Monday we'll bring you the latest news as we get it.

A safe journey home tonight for anyone who is still out and about in the snow.

4:56pm

Get all the latest traffic and travel information for your area here

4:39pm

Here in one place for your convenience are all the snow pictures we've been sent today: Snow pictures gallery

Keep the pictures coming in and we'll add more of them to the gallery. You can email News Shopper, tweet us @NewsShopper or text us on 80360 starting your message with the keywords NEWS SHOPPER.

4:29pm

There are still plenty of disruptions on Southeastern train services going into this evening. This includes a reduced service operating from Victoria, with people advised to use Charing Cross, Cannon St, London Bridge and St Pancras as alternatives.

4:28pm

How have you found today's snow - have you been having fun in it, has it caused you problems? How have your journeys on the roads or trains been today? Add your comments below or email News Shopper

4:13pm

Here is your handy at-a-glance weather forecast for the next few days.

In summary, it's going to be cold and snowy!

4:01pm

Clearing snow in Derry Downs with 2nd Orpington Scouts. Photo by Jason Price

3:48pm

3:47pm

3:45pm

Here is some weather information for you.

Temperatures are expected to remain close to freezing throughout the weekend and could drop to -6C on Sunday night.

Winds will reach 27mph and the visbility will range from moderate to very poor until Monday daytime when the temperature could reach around 0C and the Met Office says visibility will then be good.

The snow is set to get lighter over the weekend and is expected to stop by early Saturday morning.

It will start again on Saturday afternoon and continue until late Sunday evening or in the early hours of Monday.

3:12pm

Snow in Plumstead. Photo by Neopeo, via Twitter

2:59pm

Snow in Tyrrell Avenue, Welling

Photo by TONYAJ59, via Twitter

2:38pm

2:14pm

Wintry weather now seems to be affecting Southeastern train services, despite earlier claims of being ready for the snow.

Trains between Bromley South and Ashford International may be delayed by up to 60 minutes.

2:01pm

Snow in Arundel Road, Orpington. Pictures by Linda Mortimer. The weather is so bad Linda's cat won't go out in the snow!

1:55pm

A snowy view across Bromley. Photo by katiescorpio86, via Twitter

1:52pm

A lone fox on Albany Park station platform

Photo by Louise Bunch

1:47pm

For information on schools in Bexley which might be closing early check out this page

1:22pm

And more on the trains:

"Unfortunately we can't predict how trains will be running later on today, but keep an eye on nationalrail.co.uk/disruption for last info"

1:19pm

Parents can collect children from Keston Church of England Primary from 1.30pm onwards.

Manor Oak Primary is closed, Oak Lodge Primary is set to close at 1.45pm and Marian Vian Primary will be closing at 2pm.

Scotts Park Primary closed at 1pm, St Paul’s Cray Primary closed at noon and The Highway Primary will be closing at 1.30pm.

1:18pm

TRAVEL NEWS FROM SOUTHEASTERN:

Weather is starting to disrupt services so please start planning your journey home as you will need to allow additional time.

Due to poor weather conditions between Bickley & Bromley South fewer trains are able to run on all lines.

1:17pm

Malcolm Primary School, Penge, is closing at 2pm.

1:03pm

Are you a snow fan or a snow hater? Take part in our poll ...

12:55pm

Snow starting to build up at News Shopper HQ in Petts Wood.

Photo by Ellis Knowles

12:51pm

St.Peter's Church SE4

Wickham Road, Brockley

Photos by Fiona Nicole Mee

12:42pm

Southeastern trains now saying that due to poor weather conditions services at London Bridge services may be delayed by up to 20 minutes.

12:38pm

Bonfield Road in Lewisham. Photo by LewishamCT via Twitter

12:36pm

Photos of Churchill Gardens in Bromley, by Olly Groome.

12:33pm

Prendergast Ladywell Fields has just closed.

12:24pm

Glebe School in West Wickham closing at 1pm.

12:23pm

12:21pm

In the comments box below, by email newsroom@london.newsquest.co.uk or tweet us @newsshopper if you know of any school closures.

12:20pm

Getting wind of some schools in the area closing early this afternoon.

From Twitter:

Parish school in Bromley will allow Parents to collect from 1pm

Marian Vian Primary School in Beckenham to close at 2pm today, can collect earlier if you would like to

Priory school in Orpington sending all students home

12:17pm

The Thames from Greenwich on this snowy day.

Photo by craftmammoth via Twitter.

12:01pm

'Light snow' is forecast for the area for the rest of the day. There are warnings of poor visibility so go careful if you're driving anywhere.

11:44am

Proper advice from the Met Office this time, to do with clearing snow from paths and public spaces

11:35am

11:29am

The snow looks set to stick around today and tomorrow but the weather could start clearing after that - disappointing anyone who is hoping for a snow day (skive) on Monday!

11:26am

Don't think this 'advice' from the Met Office is strictly speaking genuine, but thought you might like to see it anyway. How many of these things are you doing today?

11:00am

As the video below shows, it's not exactly extreme weather around this way.

10:58am

A video of the snow in Petts Wood, taken from the roof of the News Shopper office.

10:35am

"Just had to shout at a guy as he walked past while I brushed snow off my car. Not sure if he heard me, but I think he got my drift ..."

Got any snow jokes that rival this?

10:32am

Bromley Council portfolio holder for the environment Councillor Colin Smith said: “Our gritting crews have already salted priority routes on numerous occasions this winter when frosty weather has potentially made for icy road conditions.

“The first 24 hours after snow fall is the critical period in snow clearance terms and we are incredibly grateful to the many volunteer Snow Friends who have pledged their support in clearing snow from residential roads.

“Our snow clearance teams will be focusing on pavements in town centre areas and our gritting crews are ready to operate around the clock for as long as is needed.”

10:31am

Gritting crews and snow clearance teams are braced for a busy time over the coming days in Bromley.

The gritters were out overnight salting 260 miles of priority routes across the borough. And today they are out salting pavements outside schools, transport interchanges and in town centres. 

For the third year running, Snow Friends resident groups will be clearing snow from their streets, which are areas not part of the council’s snow clearance operation.

10:28am

BBC reports Heathrow Airport has cancelled about 70 flights due to the impact of snow on other airports.

10:27am

Some Arctic wildlife spotted in snowy Beckenham! Photo by King of Beckenham, via Twitter.

10:14am

10:10am

Avenue Road, Penge - looking out to Clockhouse & Beckenham. Photo by Julie Whitney

10:07am

The snow in West Wickham, as pictured by Micky Collins.

Send your snow pictures to News Shopper, by email, on Twitter @NewsShopper, or by text to 80360 starting your messsage with NEWS SHOPPER.

10:02am

Not hearing about any school closures in the area yet due to the weather, but do please let us know if you hear of any that are shut.

10:00am

There seem to be a few delays and disruption on Southeastern trains. Keep up-to-date on the live running information page

9:52am

9:49am

I like how people on Twitter are rating the snow in their area out of 10. That's a neat idea so tell us in the comments box below the current score the snow where you are. Here in Petts Wood it's probably a 2 out 10 at most.

9:44am

Already some chatter on Twitter about supermarkets getting busy and people panic buying because of a few snowflakes. Come on people, get a grip, it's not going to be THAT bad! We're hardly set for Snowmageddon, surely?

9:42am

9:42am

A snowy scene in Beckenham.

Pic by Jackie Groundsell.

9:18am

The News Shopper editor puts rock salt down in the car park as the snow starts to arrive in Petts Wood. Coming down fast now.

9:05am

The snow is starting to fall here in Petts Wood now.

8:36am

8:14am

8:11am

8:05am

8:02am

There are currently unconfirmed reports (unconfirmed becuase I haven't seen it myself yet) that a few flakes of snow are falling in Petts Wood. Brace yourself people!

7:53am

7:53am

As you will have seen earlier, Southeastern is saying trains are running normally this morning - but if you find that's not the case, or if other public transport is disrupted, let us know.

7:51am

7:42am

If the snow starts to fall in Bexley, follow these top tips from the Bexley NHS Care Trust to keep you and your home warm.

• Keep curtains drawn and doors closed to retain warmth in the house.
• Have regular hot drinks and at least one hot meal a day.
• Wear several layers of warm clothes.
• Keep active.
• Wrap up warm if heading outside.
• Wear extra clothing in bed and keep a warm drink in a flask nearby.
• Keep your home at the recommended temperature of between 18 C and 21 C.

7:39am

We'll be putting this message out a lot more times later I'm sure, but just to say that if it does snow today we would love to see your pictures.

You can email them to us at newsroom@london.newsquest.co.uk or tweet us @NewsShopper, or text us at 80360 starting your message with NEWS SHOPPER.

A couple of years back when it snowed we get sent about 488 pictures in total, so the challenge will be to beat that!

7:34am

For those feeling hard done by about the lack of snow so far, here's a scene from Wales for you to help get you in the mood for what might come later.

7:32am

And it's not just Bromley that's on the ball ...

Bexley Council has also gritted the main routes in the borough twice. Key roads were gritted firstly at 8pm yesterday evening and again at 3am this morning.

The council says all street cleaning resources have been diverted to hand salting, with plans in place to grit pavements outside all the borough’s schools by opening time this morning.

7:31am

Roads haven't just been gritted once, they've been done twice for extra, er, gritability ...

Bromley Council gritters were out in force last night, with all roads rated as ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’ gritted twice.

It is the first time this year the team has gritted the roads more than once and also the first time the council has considered it necessary to grit the ‘secondary’ routes.

7:25am

Use News Shopper's traffic and travel information during the day as one of your sources for keeping up-to-date with what's happening on the roads and public transport.

Click here for the latest incidents

7:20am

From the Met Office.

A severe weather warning remains in place across the area this morning. South-east London and north Kent have both been issued with a yellow ‘be aware’ weather warning by the Met Office.

The warning was put in place by weather experts at 3am this morning and is set to remain until at least 9pm tonight.

According to the latest Met Office reports it will be west London enduring the worst of the wintery weather. Areas in west and central London have been issued with an orange ‘be prepared’ alert.

7:15am

More from Southeastern trains.

The train operator is reassuring passengers it is prepared for the snowfall that is expected this morning (haven't we heard that before?).

Extra staff will be on hand at larger stations to clear snow from platforms and stairs but Southeastern says it is still relying on Network Rail de-icer trains to keep the lines clear.

A Southeastern spokesman said: “It’s still very early in the morning and we know the bad weather is on its way.

“Moderate to heavy snow is expected to fall in the next few hours and continue through the day.

“We’re reliant on Network Rail clearing the tracks and ensuring points and signals don’t freeze up so we can run a train service.

“Given the weather forecast, there may be disruption on some routes through the day.

“Our staff will be out working to clear platforms and treat icy surfaces and Network Rail will be running snow and ice clearance trains day and night to help keep the network open.”

7:13am

For those of you heading off into work this morning Southeastern trains says its services are running normally, which may be a good or bad thing depending how you look at it.

It warns of snow and icy weather conditions later though and advises passengers to check its live running information page

7:10am

And here is a video of the weather forecast so you can see what's going to happen.

7:09am

Here is News Shopper's weather summary, which says there is a 100 per cent chance of the white stuff falling.

7:06am

Snow hasn't hit this area yet but is predicted to later, arriving any time from this morning's rush hour to lunchtime, depending where you look.

7:05am

Morning everyone, welcome to what promises to be a cold and (if the forecasters have finally got it right) a snowy Friday in the south-east London and north Kent area.