Compared to the deep snow that has blanketed much of the North, the South experienced little more than a few flurries yesterday. Yet dozens of schools in the region decided to close or open late ‘because of the weather’. And commuters across the country were hit by road and rail chaos – even in places that had received the lightest of dustings. Irate travellers said it was a joke that a few snowflakes could bring the country ‘to its knees’. One-year-old Max Beamer held his mother's hand as he experienced his first taste of snow during a walk in Whitby, North Yorkshire yesterday . Little Max throws his first snowball during his walk around Whitby, which was hit by roughly eight inches of snow yesterday . In Surrey, eight schools were closed due to the snow while three were shut in Buckinghamshire, two in Hampshire and another in Berkshire. Among them was Crondall Primary School near Farnham, which told parents in an online message that staff were ‘having difficulty travelling in from outside of the area’. Twelve miles away, Oakwood Infant School in Hartley Wintney blamed its partial closure on ‘lack of heating in the main building’. Dozens of other schools opened later than usual to accommodate pupils and staff held up on icy roads. Emma Spencer from Whitby ropes in her dog Beattie to help free her red VW Beetle from the snow on the A169 road yesterday . Having fun: Alexander and Paige Davies enjoy a rather unorthodox ride to school in this image taken by mother Emma in Weston Turville, Buckinghamshire (left), while Louise Lorkin took this picture of son Mason Charge, two, in Hemel Hempstead, Greater London . No snow day for you: Two girls make their way to school over the frozen pavements of North Ascot in this photo by an unknown reader . On Monday night, an average of 1 - 3cm (0.3 - 1in) of snow fell in Southern England. It was up to 8cm (3in) in the North. A further 2cm was expected in the South last night. No doubt, rail and road travellers will be hoping yesterday’s morning misery won’t be repeated. Signalling problems, broken-down trains and congestion hit the railways, especially in the South East. Some trains were cancelled, while others were delayed on routes including the West Coast Mainline between Northampton and London Euston. Many passengers blamed snow but Network Rail insisted this was not the case. Last night a spokesman said: ‘There have been no significant weather-related delays on the network today.’ Union leaders blamed cuts in maintenance for the problems, which have hit rail services since the start of the year. A couple walk through snow covered streets in Goathland in North Yorkshire, as temperatures reaching a spine-chilling -11C on Monday . Irate commuters aid it was a joke that a few snowflakes could bring the country ‘to its knees’ after road and rails were hit by travel chaos . On the roads there were 7,096 separate congestion hotspots by 8.50am, causing 5,135 miles of tailbacks and 699 hours of delay, according to TomTom Traffic. Many motorists took to social media to vent their annoyance. Ed Hayward from Buckinghamshire tweeted: ‘Can’t believe that 2 inches of snow brings High Wycombe’s traffic system to its knees.’ Another commuter near Horsham, West Sussex, wrote: ‘The three flakes of snow that have fallen on the A281 have created traffic chaos.’ Two crashes on the A34 and M25 caused huge delays during rush hour, and the AA said it had rescued 43 stranded cars by noon. This was despite gritters being out in force on the main roads and motorways, which are run by the Highways Agency. However many local roads leading to them — which are the responsibility of councils — were untreated, causing log-jams and a string of crashes. London Underground was also in chaos during rush hour, with some passengers stranded for hours after a signal failure hit three of the busiest Tube lines. Forecasters predict a new band of freezing cold air will blow in from central Europe on Friday. Today is expected to be a cold and largely dry day with some sleet and snow in the East, according to Meteogroup. Still snowing: Michael Harper shared this image of Tongham, near Farnham in Surrey as the snow continued to fall on Monday morning . Winter walk:This image of Wimbledon Common coated with snow was taken on Monday morning by Mail Online reader Sarah Rooke .
Eight schools were closed in Surrey, three in Buckinghamshire, two in Hampshire and another in Berkshire .
It was after an average of 1 - 3cm of snow fell in Southern England on Monday night - up to 8cm fell in the North .
Commuters were hit by travel chaos as signalling problems, broken down trains and congestion hit railways .
Irate travellers said it was a joke that a few snowflakes could bring a country 'to its knees' on social media .
Compared to the deep snow that has blanketed much of the North, the South experienced little more than a few flurries yesterday. Yet dozens of schools in the region decided to close or open late ‘because of the weather’. And commuters across the country were hit by road and rail chaos – even in places that had received the lightest of dustings. Irate travellers said it was a joke that a few snowflakes could bring the country ‘to its knees’. One-year-old Max Beamer held his mother's hand as he experienced his first taste of snow during a walk in Whitby, North Yorkshire yesterday . Little Max throws his first snowball during his walk around Whitby, which was hit by roughly eight inches of snow yesterday . In Surrey, eight schools were closed due to the snow while three were shut in Buckinghamshire, two in Hampshire and another in Berkshire. Among them was Crondall Primary School near Farnham, which told parents in an online message that staff were ‘having difficulty travelling in from outside of the area’. Twelve miles away, Oakwood Infant School in Hartley Wintney blamed its partial closure on ‘lack of heating in the main building’. Dozens of other schools opened later than usual to accommodate pupils and staff held up on icy roads. Emma Spencer from Whitby ropes in her dog Beattie to help free her red VW Beetle from the snow on the A169 road yesterday . Having fun: Alexander and Paige Davies enjoy a rather unorthodox ride to school in this image taken by mother Emma in Weston Turville, Buckinghamshire (left), while Louise Lorkin took this picture of son Mason Charge, two, in Hemel Hempstead, Greater London . No snow day for you: Two girls make their way to school over the frozen pavements of North Ascot in this photo by an unknown reader . On Monday night, an average of 1 - 3cm (0.3 - 1in) of snow fell in Southern England. It was up to 8cm (3in) in the North. A further 2cm was expected in the South last night. No doubt, rail and road travellers will be hoping yesterday’s morning misery won’t be repeated. Signalling problems, broken-down trains and congestion hit the railways, especially in the South East. Some trains were cancelled, while others were delayed on routes including the West Coast Mainline between Northampton and London Euston. Many passengers blamed snow but Network Rail insisted this was not the case. Last night a spokesman said: ‘There have been no significant weather-related delays on the network today.’ Union leaders blamed cuts in maintenance for the problems, which have hit rail services since the start of the year. A couple walk through snow covered streets in Goathland in North Yorkshire, as temperatures reaching a spine-chilling -11C on Monday . Irate commuters aid it was a joke that a few snowflakes could bring the country ‘to its knees’ after road and rails were hit by travel chaos . On the roads there were 7,096 separate congestion hotspots by 8.50am, causing 5,135 miles of tailbacks and 699 hours of delay, according to TomTom Traffic. Many motorists took to social media to vent their annoyance. Ed Hayward from Buckinghamshire tweeted: ‘Can’t believe that 2 inches of snow brings High Wycombe’s traffic system to its knees.’ Another commuter near Horsham, West Sussex, wrote: ‘The three flakes of snow that have fallen on the A281 have created traffic chaos.’ Two crashes on the A34 and M25 caused huge delays during rush hour, and the AA said it had rescued 43 stranded cars by noon. This was despite gritters being out in force on the main roads and motorways, which are run by the Highways Agency. However many local roads leading to them — which are the responsibility of councils — were untreated, causing log-jams and a string of crashes. London Underground was also in chaos during rush hour, with some passengers stranded for hours after a signal failure hit three of the busiest Tube lines. Forecasters predict a new band of freezing cold air will blow in from central Europe on Friday. Today is expected to be a cold and largely dry day with some sleet and snow in the East, according to Meteogroup. Still snowing: Michael Harper shared this image of Tongham, near Farnham in Surrey as the snow continued to fall on Monday morning . Winter walk:This image of Wimbledon Common coated with snow was taken on Monday morning by Mail Online reader Sarah Rooke .
lightest of dustings. Irate travellers said it was a joke that a few snowflakes could bring the yesterday . In Surrey, eight schools were closed Buckinghamshire, two in Hampshire and another in night, an average of 1 - 3cm (0.3 - 1in) of snow fell in Southern England. It was up to 8cm (3in) broken-down trains and congestion hit the few snowflakes could bring the country ‘to its knees’ after road and rails were hit by travel