Ice warning follows Eunice snow disruption
- Published
Most of Scotland is covered by a warning for ice which could lead to treacherous driving conditions after a day of snow disruption.
Storm Eunice brought heavy snow and problems on the roads for much of Friday before a yellow Met Office warning for ice began at 18:00.
Wintry showers and clear spells could lead to icy patches on untreated roads overnight.
The alert is in place until 09:00 on Saturday.
Hundreds of schools were closed on Friday with Aberdeenshire hit the worst by snow.
Ambulance rescue
Police in the north east of Scotland warned drivers only to travel if their journey was necessary, and said there were large tailbacks and significant delays in some areas.
An ambulance rushing a baby girl to hospital in Aberdeenshire was rescued by members of the public after it became stuck in heavy snow.
Ten-month-old Jessica Louise Macleod, who spent the first six months of her life in hospital with a congenital heart defect, became ill after developing breathing difficulties on Friday.
The ambulance became stuck in snow as it tried to reach a hospital in Aberdeen.
Some minor roads roads around Angus, parts of Aberdeenshire and Argyll and Bute were also affected by heavy snow.
The ice warning covers most of Scotland
Three people died as the storm's fierce winds swept across the UK.
Snow showers continued to fall into Friday night and Traffic Scotland warned of hazardous driving conditions.
The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful is operating under convoy control until Saturday evening, and then from 19:00 traffic will be diverted to the Old Military Road as a safety precaution, due to the heavy rain forecast.
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ScotRail said it was planning to run a full service on Saturday, but that high winds might mean train speeds would be limited.
Overhead wires were damaged at Beattock when a large tree fell on the railway line.
Network Rail said the extent of the damage was considerable and repairs would continue all night and into Saturday morning.
Ferry passengers faced disruption on Friday due to adverse weather and Caledonian MacBrayne warned that services would continue to be affected over the weekend.
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The ferry operator said passengers should continue to check the status of their sailing and that situations could change quickly.
'Dangerous conditions'
Scottish Mountain Rescue warned there was a risk of dangerous conditions, including the possibility of avalanches.
The organisation's vice chairman Kev Mitchell said: "The weekend forecast is for very unsettled and, at times, dangerous conditions.
"With the arrival of Storm Eunice on Friday, hills will see high winds and the potential for snowfall to low levels meaning the avalanche forecast will be likely to worsen.
"Good decision-making is key in these situations and often the decision not to go, whilst correct, is the hardest one to make."
Specialist mountain weather forecasts are predicting sustained periods of gales or hurricane-force winds on higher terrain for the next week, with snow, rain and hail expected most days.
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