The council said staff had "worked around the clock" since Friday's snow to keep the roads clear, but it took the decision because the icy conditions are forecast to remain, and the state of some side streets and pavements.

BBC: Temperature drops to record -17C November low in Powys

The loss of observations of key Earth system components and processes will weaken the ability to understand and forecast changes arising from interactions and feedbacks within the Earth system and limit the data and information available to users and decision makers.

FORBES: Losing NASA's Eyes in the Sky

The manufacturers' organisation, the EEF, said that the Bank's decision to act now, before the third-quarter estimates of GDP and its latest inflation forecast were released, "would indicate that members believed immediate action was warranted in order to head off a deteriorating growth outlook".

BBC: Bank of England injects further ?75bn into economy