Scottish storms: Amber weather warning for Scotland

Snow has brought fresh disruption to parts of Scotland following the storms that cut power to 140,000 properties last week.

A car has crashed into a house on Dundee's Constitution Road following a six-vehicle collision. One person was thought to have been injured.

A Met Office weather warning of snow and ice affecting central Scotland has been upgraded from yellow to amber.

It advises the public to "be prepared" for difficult weather conditions.

The amber warning covers Strathclyde, Tayside, Fife, south west Scotland, Lothian and the Borders from 16:00 on Tuesday to 10:00 on Wednesday.

Traffic Scotland camera pictures showed snowy conditions in Argyll at Dalmally, Rest&BeThankful, Tyndrum and Glen Ogle

A yellow "be aware" warning covers the rest of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland until Thursday afternoon.

Scotrail said no trains would run on a number of west coast routes from 12:00 on Wednesday until 18:00 on Thursday due to the stormy conditions being forecast.

On the amber snow warning, the Met Office said: "Showers will fall as snow to low levels at times on Tuesday.

"From late afternoon these will settle more readily, and there is a risk of two spells of persistent snow.

"The first of these is likely to cross the amber area on Tuesday evening, with another one affecting the area on Wednesday morning - both of which could produce disruptive snowfall during busy travel periods.

"Meanwhile, snow is likely to continue to accumulate throughout this period on high ground."

It added: "The public should be prepared for the risk of disruption and difficult driving conditions."

A crash in Dundee saw a car skid off the road into a house

Transport Minister Derek Mackay said a wide range of agencies and organisations were preparing to respond to the expected worsening conditions.

He said: "Our trunk road operating companies are doing all they can to keep roads clear where possible. We have patrols out across the day and night and motorists can see details of where and when gritters will be in operation through the interactive winter treatments map on the Traffic Scotland website.

"There is plenty of salt in stock and our winter control rooms are monitoring conditions 24/7 make sure that the winter fleet is treating and patrolling where required."

Chf Insp Louise Blakelock, of Police Scotland, said: "With a substantial risk of disruption to travel likely throughout today and into Wednesday due to the weather, motorists should consider whether their journey is absolutely necessary.

"If you do decide to travel, ensure your vehicle is well prepared before setting off, make sure your windscreens are completely free of snow and ice, and your lights are working and clean."

Network Rail said staff would be working "around the clock" to keep the tracks clear.

David Dickson, route managing director for Scotland, said: "Safety has to be our first consideration during severe weather.

"We will be monitoring conditions on the ground closely throughout the night and into the morning and will have teams in place across the country to react quickly to any damage caused by the weather.

"Where conditions are predicted to be most severe, we have agreed to withdraw a limited number of services until the worst of the storms have passed."

Snow has fallen across large parts of the Highlands and north of Scotland

Snow has been falling over Dundee

The Isle of Tiree has also had snow flurries

Snow has affected many roads in the Highlands, including the A9 where a lorry jack-knifed near Carrbridge. earlier on Tuesday.

About 30 schools in the Highlands were closed because of the weather.

In Dundee, bus services were restricted to main roads only amid heavy snow in the city.

National Express Dundee said there was "severe disruption to all services".

Police in the Scottish Borders reported a number of minor accidents due to the weather.

They said conditions were "treacherous" on some routes and advised drivers to take care.

A spokeswoman for roads operator Bear Scotland said all trunk routes in the north west and north east were being treated.

She added: "Our specially trained winter team will work around the clock during this challenging period supported by our 24-hour control room, which monitors road conditions via weather stations and cameras. This means that resources are deployed where they are most needed."

Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles are expected to escape the worst of the weather.

The Met Office said the risk of snow extended into northern England on Tuesday, especially across the Pennines and higher parts of Cumbria.

For Cara, three, the weather has given her the chance to build snow castles at Bankfoot, near Perth

A snowy scene on Inverness riverside

The snow comes after last week's storms which led to 140,000 homes in Scotland losing power and a number of lorries overturned on motorways.

Engineers battled with extreme weather to reconnect properties in the north of the country, which remained cut off over the weekend.

SSE's Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) said it remained on high alert because of storm force winds and heavy snow forecast for Wednesday and Thursday.

Check out the latest travel news for Scotland

Around the country

For the latest on the roads visit the BBC's travel news page and keep up to date with incidents and roadworks on the motorways here.

Around the country you can check for updates from:

• Edinburgh, Fife and East Scotland

• Glasgow and West Scotland

• Highlands and Islands

• North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland

• South Scotland

• Tayside and Central Scotland.

Alternatively, for regular travel bulletins listen live to BBC Radio Scotland and follow @BBCTravelScot.

In times of severe disruption you can also follow the BBC Scotland severe weather Twitter list of key sources.

Below are a number of other traffic information sources.

Other links

• Traffic Scotland

• Transport Scotland

• Ready Scotland

• National Rail Enquiries

• Traveline Scotland

• ScotRail

• Network Rail