Large parts of Britain stood still Sunday because of the heavy snowfall that blanketed the country, its worst snowfall in almost two decades.

Up to 1 foot of snow was recorded in portions of the south east, while in the Pennines there was at least four inches of ice.

The blanket of ice caused the closure of schools, cancellation of plane trips, paralysis of mass transits, closure of roads and trapping of millions of Britons inside their homes. But the worst is yet to come. The Met Office said the situation will turn for the worse in the coming days.

Accidents were reported across U.K. In Wales, two brothers were reported missing in Snowdonia, which prompted a search by mountain rescue teams and a Royal Air Force helicopter.

Among the British airports which closed were Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Southampton and Luton, while schools were shuttered in Essex, Kent, London, Birmingham, the West Midlands and East Anglia.

Business estimated their losses due to the bad weather at $1.7 billion (1.2 billion pound) resulting from lost trade.

Federation of Small Businesses spokesman Stephen Alambritis said in a statement, "People are doing their level best to get in and many are working from home over the Internet. But we are now doubling our earlier forecast that 10 percent of people will not get to work."