Britain is bracing for more snow, rain and flooding as severe weather disrupts road and rail travel and forces airports in northern England to temporarily close their runways, delaying dozens of flights.

The Met Office had warnings in place for snow, ice and rain across much of the UK, while the Environment Agency said flooding was expected at over 150 locations due to rain and melting snow.

Flooding or heavy rain had delayed or cancelled dozens of trains, Britain's National Rail said.

Some major roads in northern and central England were also closed due to snow or flooding, National Highways said.

Manchester Airport temporarily closed its runways due to heavy snow, following a similar move by Liverpool Airport over the weekend.

"Some departures and arrivals may still experience delays," Manchester Airport said once the runways were reopened.

The Met Office said parts of the UK had faced their coldest night of the winter so far, with temperatures in parts of Scotland falling as low as minus 13.3 degrees.

Snow from winter storm brings widespread disruption across the UK. – AP

With the weather set to stay inclement, there were concerns over the weekend that many rural communities could be cut off with up to 40cm (15 inches) of snow on ground above 300m (985 feet).

The National Grid, which oversees the country's electricity network, said it had been working to restore power after outages across the country. The company's live map shows power cuts in Birmingham in central England, Bristol in the west and Cardiff in Wales.

The road network was heavily impacted too, on what would have been a very busy day with many families returning home from the Christmas and New Year break and students heading back to universities.

On the railways, many services were cancelled, with National Rail warning of disruption continuing into the working week.

Britain's main weather forecaster, the Met Office, has forecast the sleet and snow will continue to push north on Sunday and be heaviest in northern England and into southern Scotland. After experiencing freezing rain for a time, the south will turn milder.

Frost and icy patches will continue through the early part of the week, but Monday and Tuesday will become drier with sunny spells and scattered wintry showers.

A man walks his dog in snow past scaled miniature famous landmarks in Nenthead. – AP