All schools in Edinburgh will remain closed on Friday 2 March.

Lothian Buses said: "Further to the advice from government agencies regarding the red weather warning, services on Lothian, East Coast Buses and Edinburgh Bus Tours continue to be suspended this morning. Airlink 100 will continue to run approximately every 15 minutes to the airport.

"We are assessing the situation and will do so on an hourly basis."

You won't see this very often. The Kingston Bridge, normally one of Glasgow's busiest roads. This picture was taken from the Scottish Power building by one of its employees.

Image source, Scottish Power

Paul McLaren
BBC Scotland news website

"Seven hours stuck on the freezing, snow-battered M80. And I was one of the lucky ones.

I left the BBC Scotland offices in Glasgow at 13:20 on Wednesday hoping to make it home to Falkirk before the red alert for snow kicked in at 15:00.

"If I had left any later, I could still have been behind the wheel to watch the sun come up.

"The journey started with the snow already swirling like a sandstorm but things were moving slowly but surely until about a mile south of Castlecary.

"Then we stopped - and we didn't move another inch for four hours.

"The eventual relief lasted for about two minutes and 100 yards before what what had become the biggest car park in Scotland seized up again.

"The weather was so painfully awful that people weren't even getting out of their cars to stretch their creaking legs.

"The sunlight was swallowed by a doomsday sky and the realisation that we were all in this for the very long haul kicked in."

Image source, PA

"Word was getting through that a number of stricken lorries had closed both carriageways and the rescue operation was a fraught one because the trucks were teetering on an increasingly icy gradient.

"It was nearly 21:00 and the traffic watchers' talk was of another two, three or four-hour wait.

"Then, slowly, we started edging forward. Desperately trying to keep up a bit of pace so as not to get struck in the slushy quicksand, we skidded and slipped up the road towards the Haggs cut-off.

"And that's where we got our first look at the stranded trucks which had shut off the main route from Glasgow to Stirling, Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen.

"Dozens of them hauled onto the hard shoulder, it was like an elephants' graveyard for lorries.

"I made it past them, onto the M876 and eventually home.

"Eight hours after setting off on a 25-mile journey, I made it home.

"All the more grateful as the horror stories of those still stuck behind me unfolded.

"The Beast from the East had bared it's teeth - and made Shane McGowan look like Tom Cruise."

Edinburgh Airport said travel conditions remain difficult and are likely to be so for the rest of the day.

A spokesman said: "This means that the some airlines do not have the critical mass of staff needed to run operations securely.

These airlines have decided not to fly today:

• British Airways
• Ryanair
• easyJet
• Turkish
• KLM
• Flybe
• Aer Lingus
• Air France

"We ask that passengers do not come to the airport if they are flying with these carriers. All passengers should check with their airline before travelling to the airport

"Further updates about other airlines and tomorrow’s operations will be made over the course of the day.

"For now, our priority is our passengers and our staff. We are working closely with Marketing Edinburgh and the city’s hoteliers to find accommodation for any stranded passengers. We are grateful for the response from the City to assist those in need."

An amber weather warning for snow has been extended until 10am on Friday.

The red alert expired at 10am this morning but an amber warning for much of the country was due to run until 18:00.

The Met Office have now said conditions will be amber until 10am on Friday at least.

• Amber: Be prepared for disruption. There is an increased likelihood of bad weather affecting you, which could potentially disrupt your plans and possibly cause travel delays, road and rail closures, interruption to power and the potential risk to life and property.

In Caithness and Sutherland, police say they are dealing with incidents on the A9 at Berriedale Braes and have asked motorists to avoid area.

A836 Lairg to Tongue, A897 Helmsdale to Melvich and B9176 Struie Road also currently closed.

Police Scotland said: “Amber warnings for snow still in place for parts of the Highlands - do not travel in these areas.”

Journalist Alan Douglas called BBC Radio Scotland’s Kaye Adams Programme from Great Western Road in Glasgow’s West End.

He is test driving a 4x4 and was en route to pick up shopping for neighbours but described the conditions as “incredibly extreme”.

Mr Douglas told the programme: “Somebody has actually skied past me.

“Looking out at the conditions there is horizontal snow.

“The last time I seen this was when I did winter driving in Finland a couple of years ago.

“I have never seen conditions like this in Scotland.

“It is almost Siberian.”

Image source, met office

The Met Office red alert for snow expired at 10:00 but there is still an amber warning for large parts of Scotland until 18:00.

It covers Central Scotland, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, Highlands, south west Scotland, Lothian and the Borders.

Extreme weather and jack-knifed lorries combined to cause "significant challenges" on one of Scotland's main roads where motorists were stranded overnight, the Deputy First Minister said.

John Swinney said there had been an "extensive operation" taking place to try to get traffic on the M80 motorway - which links Glasgow and Stirling - moving again.

Motorists reported being stuck for up to 18 hours, with hundreds spending the night in their cars, and others abandoning their vehicles on the motorway.

Virgin Trains said it was advising people who are booked to travel to or from destinations in Scotland and north of Newcastle not to travel today.

It said: "All ticket restrictions have been lifted today and on Friday 2 March. Your ticket will be valid for travel on any Virgin Trains East Coast train.

"Mutual ticket acceptance is place between Virgin Trains East Coast and Great Northern, TransPennine Express, CrossCountry, Hull Trains and Grand Central, via any reasonable route.

For the most up to date travel information, visit: www.virgintrainseastcoast.com, external

"We are currently working with Network Rail and monitoring weather conditions over the coming hours. Regular updates on train running are also available online here , externaland you can follow us on Twitter @Virgin_TrainsEC, external"

Steven McKenzie
BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter

In Caithness and Sutherland, police say they are dealing with incidents on the A9 at Berriedale Braes and have asked motorists to avoid the area.

A836 Lairg to Tongue, A897 Helmsdale to Melvich and B9176 Struie Road are also currently closed.

Police Scotland said: “Amber warnings for snow are still in place for parts of the Highlands - do not travel in these areas.”

First Glasgow operations director Duncan Cameron said: "The First Glasgow team have had a further meeting this morning and unfortunately, a further assessment of the weather and road conditions around the network, has seen no change in conditions.

"As a result, there will be no services running this morning at all. The safety of our staff and customers is of the utmost importance and as such this was the only decision that could be taken at this point.

“We will have to take an hourly assessment of the situation and we will provide further updates as the day progresses with a view to being ready to get services back to normal as soon as it is safe to do so. We will provide a further update this afternoon.”