MOTORISTS have been warned of icy roads tonight after snow fell in hilly areas of North Yorkshire early today.

These images from webcams operated by North Yorkshire County Council show snow covering main road in the early hours of today at Settle and Grassington, in the Yorkshire Dales, and lying this morning alongside the A170 at Sutton Bank, near Thirsk, and the A169 at Blue Bank, between Whitby and Pickering.

The York area escaped with rain or sleet.

Forecasters expect today to be much drier in York and North Yorkshire, with sunny spells, but temperatures are not likely to rise higher than 5C.

But a yellow warning has been issued by the Met Office for ice in the early hours of tomorrow in parts of North Yorkshire, causing a risk of accidents and injuries.

Tomorrow will be sunny with temperatures rising to 7C in York.

Anyone hoping for a Good King Wenceslas-style white Christmas after last night's falls looks set to be disappointed: light rain and temperatures of about 7C are currently being forecast for York.