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Travel warning as snow and ice alert covers all of Scotland

Reuters Snow plough clearing the roads in Carrbridge, Scotland in January 2023Reuters
Maintenance operators said gritters had been deployed across Scotland's road network

Travellers have been urged to plan carefully and follow transport advice with a yellow warning for ice and snow in place across Scotland.

Temperatures could drop to -5C on Tuesday evening and into Wednesday morning.

An earlier Met Office forecast for snow in the central belt during the morning rush hour failed to materialise.

However, an incoming band of persistent snow could bring transport problems during the evening.

So far there have been no reports of major problems on the roads, all trunk roads are open and Transport Scotland said it had put into place "well-established plans" to minimise disruption.

The heavy snowfall forecast for Tuesday morning went further south than expected, missing central Scotland and the south of the country and instead hitting Northern Ireland and northern England.

However, afternoon snowfall created "difficult driving conditions" across the A87, the A835 and the A82, according to Traffic Scotland, while considerable snow was likely to cause problems on the A9 and A889.

Head of transport resilience, Stein Connelly, said a multi-agency response team would be working to co-ordinate resources.

He said: "This cold snap is already causing difficult driving conditions, with further severe impacts anticipated on Tuesday as part of the existing warnings.

"It's important that anyone that has to travel during the warning period plans their journey in advance and allows extra time.

"If you have to travel, please drive to the conditions. There may also be disruption on other modes of transport, so please check before setting off."

Snow in Lerwick
Workers in Lerwick clearing snow on Tuesday

Further snow is expected for the north of the country tonight, with temperatures expected to drop well below freezing.

Roads maintenance group, Amey SW Trunk Roads stated that they will have 27 gritters and a further 15 patrol gritter vehicles treating the network on Tuesday night, while Bear Scotland confirmed that 29 gritters will be used throughout the north west.

The weather continued to impact over 100 schools across the country.

  • All schools in Shetland were closed.
  • In Aberdeenshire, a handful of schools were closed while dozens of others opened late or were unable to provide transport.
  • More than 60 schools and 40 nurseries in the Highland council area had to close.
  • The snow gates have been closed on the A939 in Corgarf in Moray between Tomintoul and Cock Bridge.
  • There were delays and cancellations of some train services to and from Inverness to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Sheep in snowy South Uist
Snowy conditions in South Uist as farmers ensured their animals were well fed

Fife Council stated that they expected any snow to clear by this evening, but there would be "a significant and widespread ice risk" developing into Wednesday.

Police Scotland head of road policing, Ch Supt Hilary Sloan, urged drivers to consider whether their journeys were necessary during the winter weather.

She said: "If you absolutely have to travel, please drive to the conditions, be prepared for delays and allow extra time for your journey.

"Please don't drive through road closures, the decision to close roads is not taken lightly and is done for public safety."

Traffic Scotland advised drivers to use their live route checker map to check for disruption that could impact travel.

Responding to a question at the Scottish Parliament, Angela Constance, the Scottish secretary for justice and home affairs, said that she believed the country was "in a good state of preparedness for winter".

Snow in Cunningsburgh
Cunningsburgh in Shetland was covered by snow on Tuesday
Renee Dodd Màraig in the Outer HebridesRenee Dodd
Màraig in the Outer Hebrides

Network Rail Scotland stated they had used de-icing fluid to keep critical junctions open and that "proactive changes" on the Highland main line had already protected remote junctions from signal failure.

ScotRail said services on the line, from Perth to Inverness, would be delayed by around 30 minutes all day on Tuesday.

The rail operator stated on social media that their public performance measure (PPM) remained at 90% despite the conditions.

Passengers are asked to check the ScotRail website for the latest updates.

Ferry operator CalMac said passengers should use its service status website for journey information.

Watch the weather forecast for Scotland as an amber warning for snow remains for parts of the country

The cold snap is expected to last several days with weather warnings in place for large parts of the country until Thursday.

The Met Office said temperatures this week were around 5C to 6C lower than usual for this time of year.

Met Office chief meteorologist, Andy Page, said: "Where and how much snow we will get will vary throughout the week and weather warnings could change quickly.

"It will feel bitterly cold with daytime temperatures in the low single figures for many, and overnight temperatures will fall to minus 3 or minus 4 in many towns and cities, and it will be even colder in many rural areas."

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