Inverness sees Scotland's first snowfall of season

Many streets in Inverness were covered in a light dusting of snow

The first snowfall of the winter season has hit parts of the Highlands, with freezing conditions bringing snow, frost and sleety rain.

Despite a relatively mild autumn, parts of Inverness saw temperatures dip to -3C, while Kinbrace in Sutherland saw temperatures drop to as low as -5.8C.

Locals in the Inverness area reported snow coming down at about 07:00, with other areas affected including the top end of Loch Ness, spanning east to Lossiemouth and Burghead.

The light covering of snow has since started to melt.

The vast majority of schools remain open, but Highland Council has closed Central Primary School and nursery due to a lack of heating.

BBC Weather presenter, Gillian Smart said: "Snow in November in Scotland is not unusual but it's interesting because it represents such a contrast to what's happening further south across the UK, where we have much milder air and a named storm.

"And indeed, it's a marked shift from the generally mild conditions we've had in Scotland for much of the autumn so far."

She said the sudden colder conditions were in part due to an area of high pressure coming from Iceland.

"The freezing level has now risen, so though we'll continue to see showers in northern and eastern parts, snow should be confined to ground above about 400m through the rest of today," she said.

She added that the cold conditions and overnight frosts would continue into the weekend, with more snow due in the Highlands on Sunday.

This November has so far been considerably milder than previous years.

Typical overnight temperatures at this time of year range from 2C in Scotland to 5C in the south of England.

During the first week in November they rarely fell into single figures, instead hovering at about 10 to 14C.

Last November, temperatures below -10C were recorded in some parts of northern Scotland, including Braemar in Aberdeenshire which reached a low of -11.2C.

The last time -10.9C or lower was recorded on or before 19 November was in 1998.

Earlier this week, Scottish transport operators outlined their winter resilience plans, which included stocking up on 497,000 tonnes of salt - more than was used for the entirety of last winter - and preparing 240 gritters to undertake salt spreading and snow ploughing patrols of the trunk road network.

Winter in Scotland officially runs from December to February, but in recent years wintry conditions have lasted as late into the year as May.