SIGNIFICANT amounts of snow finally fell across the Brecon Beacons last night.

Across Breconshire 16 schools have closed including Brecon, Crickhowell and Gwernyfed high schools. The NPTC College has said its Brecon Beacons campus, in Brecon, is closed due to severe weather though all other college sites are open.

Parents who are concerned about how the wintry conditions may affect their child's school can check the Powys County Council website which has an updated list of school closures.

Temperatures in the Beacons remained below freezing on Friday but main roads were passable although police again urged motorists to drive to the conditions.

The Brecon Beacons National Park Authority cancelled a Friday afternoon committee meeting due to take place at its Brecon headquarters due to predicted snowfall. The decision was taken late on Thursday.Forecasters had warned snow was likely to fall from Thursday afternoon but those waiting for a blanket of white had to wait until the evening.

Shortly before 7pm on Thursday Dyfed-Powys Police’s Brecon Roads Policing Unit described roads in the Breconshire area as "rapidly deteriorating" and reminded drivers to drive to the conditions.

Powys council gritters have been gritting the main roads since 3pm on Thursday and large amounts of snowfall were noted on A470 at Storey Arms, were snow was drifting, and on the A40 between Brecon and Sennybridge and the A4067 above the Crai Reservoir.

A yellow weather warning for snow and ice issued by the Met Office from 1pm on Thursday remains in place until 1pm on Friday. It covers most of mid, west and South Wales.

The Met Office said to expect possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers and that some rural areas could be cut off and power cuts might occur and mobile phone coverage may be affected.

There is also a risk of injury from slips and falls on icy surfaces and untreated pavements and cycle paths might be impassable because of black ice.

Anyone driving on the roads has been reminded, by the Welsh local government’s road safety body, to drive slowly on snow and ice and to lift the accelerator early to allow their vehicle’s speed to drop gradually. Drivers needing to press their brakes should do so with very gentle pressure.

The Welsh Government’s rail operator Transport for Wales cancelled services on the Heart of Wales Line on Thursday and this morning between Swansea, Llandovery and Llandrindod.

It said due to the likelihood of roads being severely affected by snow no replacement road transport will be provided for services between Swansea – Llandovery – Llandindod and customers are advised not to travel on this route until train services re-commence after 2pm on Friday February 1.

Train passengers can check for service updates at https://www.journeycheck.com/tfwrail/.

Bus firm Stagecoach Wales which operates the T4 service from Newtown to Cardiff said it passengers should check from 6am which services are operating.