RECORD low temperatures caused chaos on the region's transport network. Delays were caused to dozens of trains and tram services as the mercury dropped to a historic low of minus 17.6C.
Northern Rail services were hit by frozen points while the trams on the Metrolink system were hit as the weather continued to wreak havoc.
The region's roads have also been hit with the M60 closed at junctions four (Cheadle) and five (Wythenshawe) after six drivers were forced to abandon their cars on the embankment and hard shoulder.
School closures confirmed on Friday
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It was a similar story on the M6 northbound at junction 24 (St Helens) where a stricken car blocked part of the motorway.
Two cars collided at junction 24 (Denton) of the M60 and there was also a crash on the M66 southbound at junction three (Whitefield) .
Black ice is thought to be the culprit.
Supt Alan Greene urged motorists to take extra care.
He said: "While the motorways have been gritted, there is a tendency for some drivers to be over confident. We are working hard with the highways agency to keep all the motorways passable but people must take additional care."
A Metrolink service from Bury to Manchester became stuck underneath a tunnel after a technical failure close to Whitefield.
Passengers had to remain in their seats as the tram edged back to a nearby platform.
The stricken vehicle remained on the track – causing further delays to an already weather-hit service.
Officials blamed a technical failure and the extreme conditions for the breakdown.
In Middlewich, Cheshire, drivers were being warned to stay clear of Cross Lane as lorries queued to collect from the salt mine.
The -17.6 reading was taken overnight at the weather station in Woodford, near Stockport.
The data is still being verified but Met Office experts say it is likely to be the lowest minimum temperature in the region since records began in the 1940s.
Manchester Airport also saw Arctic conditions, with temperatures of -15C reported.
Alan Goodman, the Met Office's regional advisor for the North West, described the temperatures as 'extremely rare'.
He told the M.E.N: "It's very unusual – unprecedented in recent history – for such low temperatures to be recorded in Greater Manchester.
"These temperatures have been reached in Scotland this winter but it's extremely rare for England and Wales.
"Temperatures levels have dipped sharply overnight and will take some time to recover – it's fair to say the conditions are highly unusual for this region."
Forecasters are predicting the cold snap will continue, with further snow showers and icy roads over the next couple of days.
Temperatures could be set to breach -10C again with many towns not expected to climb above freezing, even during the day.
They warned that spells of sunshine on Friday and Saturday could thaw ground frost and snow, which could freeze rapidly once the sun sets.
Although -17.6C could be a new lowest temperature in Greater Manchester, the region cannot claim to have smashed the UK record.
Braemar in the Grampians recorded a staggering -27.2C on January 10, 1982.
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Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All
NWmancCUB (07/01/2010 at 10:54)
Mizhael Herrera (07/01/2010 at 11:17)
jazzy242, Manchester (07/01/2010 at 11:20)
Ste Shaw (07/01/2010 at 11:24)
And no – before anyone starts (because I have seen some say it), our recent spate of cold weather is NOT due to Global Warming as predicted, causing more extremes of cold in other areas. This theory (and that is all it is, a THEORY) states that increasing colder weather in the north is due to a receding Atlantic Conveyor (due to melting polar ice) causing the cessation of the Gulf Stream, resulting in the warm humid air from the southern hemisphere no longer being delivered to the UK.
The above has not occurred at all. It’s cold because… it’s winter. That is all. It is colder than usual, yes, because, as predicted by those who take solar activity into account in their climate predictions, the sun experienced an unusual lack of sun spot activity recently. This solar activity \ climate link correlates with the mini ice age(s) experienced back around 1650, 1770 and 1850. Whereas; notice the Met Office got their prediction horribly wrongo.
Knowsleyman, Paphos (07/01/2010 at 11:37)
Marquis de Sade et la petit monge tout (07/01/2010 at 12:20)
Sir Big Top Hat, Somewhere spiffing (07/01/2010 at 12:41)
andy waytomakeacomment, Greater Manchester (07/01/2010 at 12:53)
I'm tired of reading the same old sarcastic one-liners about GW; they frequently reveal a lack of understanding. Nice to see the occassional informed opinion.
Idroid, city centre (07/01/2010 at 12:55)
sledge (07/01/2010 at 13:03)
Lemont Coleman (07/01/2010 at 13:24)
It may be 34 yrs but it will never be 37yrs. (07/01/2010 at 14:08)
Goldengrrrl, Leeds (07/01/2010 at 14:10)
Climate change is taking place as the earth continues to warm up.
In the UK, 2009 as a whole was the 14th-warmest on record (since 1914). This above-average temperature trend was reflected globally, with 2009 being the fifth-warmest year on the global record (since 1850).
The current cold weather in the UK is part of the normal regional variations that take place in the winter season. It doesn’t tell us anything about climate change, which has to be looked at in a global context and over longer periods of time
Haytch, Manchester (07/01/2010 at 14:14)
umpire 2, Salford M7 4HT (07/01/2010 at 14:30)
in reality in 15 years we have not had weather like this for so long, so it was good to see the post by Ste Shaw with his informed comments on Global Warning, but be careful Ste, the Tories might want you as an advisor shortly...
Jamie Cole (07/01/2010 at 14:38)
"weather DOES NOT equal climate"
Weather is a short term observation, climate is a much longer term observation. One week of cold temperatures does not change our definition of what the climate of the UK is, this would have to measure trends over a much longer term.
Now I don't know if climate change is real or not as I've not studied the information myself (how many of you people saying it just isn't true have sat down and researched it?) but I do understand the difference between weather and climate.
Your argument is like saying someone observing that shops must only be allowed to open for 6 hours a day but they only looked at the Sunday opening hours - you need a much larger sample to make any valid statements about the climate that one cold snap.
Again, I'm not saying I'm convinced of climate change and need to research it more, but I rightly won't take one short cold snap as proof. Will you all change your tune and believe if we have a week long heatwave in August? Thought not...
Please, please take this on baord and understand it before making snap, ill informed opinions and sharing them on the internet.
Huckleberry Mudsplasher (07/01/2010 at 14:45)
"Please, please take this on baord and understand it before making snap, ill informed opinions and sharing them on the internet. "
What was the weather like which allowed the area we now call the North Pole to be coverred in lush vegitation in Cambrian times?
SouthportBlue, Southport (07/01/2010 at 14:48)
d1v1s1onby0, Wigan (07/01/2010 at 15:03)
Jamie, that is exactley the argument I use against climate change - the measurements being used to warn of climate change are only those on record - which by comparison to the (Weather) history of the planet earth is an eye-blink.
I often wonder if the dinosaurs going extinct would have been the fault of the human race had we been around at that time.
I find most environmentailsts to be quite narcissistic in thinking that everything that happens is because of us. Climate change may happen and have nothing to do with us - or it may not even happen at all.
But if it does, life on earth will continue - thats what evolution is all about - the dinsours went because it was too cold for them and the humans may go because its too warm, but another species will flourish instead. I am not so selfish as to deny the natural order of things
The current push towards the green lifestyle has more to do with the economy and promoting consumerism than it does about actually saving the planet.
If people TRULY carde about the enironment then they would be choosing to drive older cars with long lifespans (Such as Landrover 4x4s) and converting them to run on alternative fuels such as LPG.
You could drive the biggest 4x4 avialable that has been converted to LPG, for the next hundred years and pump out less emissions than you create by building a new "Green" car such as a Prius (or any other new car) - BUT the economical effect of getting people to stop buying new cars and use older ones would cripple any country that tries. So the push is on to buy more cars and keep that cash pumping around the system.
Carl Knott (07/01/2010 at 15:10)
bat 21 (07/01/2010 at 15:12)
re.bit bland inside your igloo.
top tip.
why not hang some old xmas cards on the wall with nice snowy pictures on them?
p.s. does anyone know why it takes so long for posts to appear on this forum? please dont say coz of snow on the line or anything to do with snow
ta.
Munkey Boy, Audenshaw (07/01/2010 at 15:19)
Anyone that thinks this little short term blip on one small island counters an agreed global warming trend needs to go back to school.
Almighty God, Salford - vote Green (07/01/2010 at 15:43)
this might sound strange coming from someone who's name says vote green, but i vote green not for the environment but for policies like citizens income, a eu confederation (instead of union), greater local powers and a higher standard of living, more public (and more efficient) public services, etc.
that and i hate capitalists pigs
Tick tock, tick tock - it's only a dream and you know it, The Real World (07/01/2010 at 15:53)
Englisc Stannes, North Manchester (07/01/2010 at 16:14)