Greater Manchester was hit by a second day of snow and iceSt Peters Square in Manchester City Centre(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)

Schools across the region were forced to shut and one major road became impassable as the north west endured a second day of snow and plummeting temperatures.

In Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Lancashire and Cheshire, schools were forced to close, with many having to call off lessons because of burst water pipes.

Temperatures dipped to -5C during the night and the mercury struggled to rise above 3C even at the warmest period of Tuesday, according to the Whitworth Observatory in Manchester city centre.

Met Office forecasters said temperatures would be slightly warmer on Wednesday but they warned of a ‘multi-hazard’ weather event as Storm Goretti sweeps the UK on Thursday.

A yellow snow warning has been issued across large parts of England and Wales for Thursday (January 8) and into Friday (January 9), with up to 20cm of snow forecast on higher ground and between 5-10cm expected widely.

Early on Tuesday the A58 Rochdale Road in Bury wass blocked in both directions due to an accident while the A57 Snake Pass between Manchester and Sheffield was ‘just passable’ due to the snow, according to the traffic information service Inrix.

Hollingworth Academy, in Milnrow, Rochdale, was one of man schools forced to shut The school said in a statement: “Unfortunately, the academy is closed to all pupils today (Tuesday 6th January 2026), due to a burst pipe affecting the heating. Our engineers are working hard to fix the issue, and we expect to reopen tomorrow. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We will, of course, provide an update on the safety of the academy environment and communicate this to you as soon as we know more.”

The Corpus Christi R.C School and Oasis Academy in Oldham were also shut due to heating issues.

In Lancashire, Mount Carmel RC High School in Accrington, St John’s Stonefold Church of England Primary School in Rossendale and St Veronica’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Helmshore and Balderstone St Leonard’s Church of England Primary School were all shut while Accrington Acadamy announced a partial school closure for Years 7-9.

In Cheshire, among the schools closed were the Congleton High School, Sandbach High School and Sandbach School.