Snow and ice warnings issued for Scotland

Residents in Aberdeen woke up to a wintry scene on Tuesday

The Met Office has said snow and ice could cause travel disruption in Scotland through to Friday night.

Forecasters said Arctic air would bring the coldest temperatures of the year, and up to 40cm (15in) of snow could accumulate in the southern Highlands.

A series of yellow "be aware" warnings have been issued until 18:00 on Friday.

Heavy snow and ice is making for hazardous driving conditions on Tuesday across the north east, including in Aberdeen.

A number of schools are closed in the Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council and Highland Council areas.

Meanwhile, Shetland Isles Council confirmed no schools will open due to the wintry conditions.

• The latest headlines from Scotland

The Met Office said many locations across Scotland could see between 5-10cm (2-4in) of snow at the end of the week.

The heaviest snowfalls are expected on Friday with the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and central and southern Scotland covered by warnings.

Weather alerts had earlier been issued for north and north east Scotland.

The Met Office said the lower temperatures were expected on Monday night on higher ground in northern Scotland, with northerly winds making it feel even colder.

CalMac has issued a warning that some of its sailings in and out of Oban on Monday will be liable to cancellation or disruption as a result of the expected adverse weather.

Brae in Shetland early on Monday

A covering of snow at Rogart in the Highlands

In Shetland all schools in the North Isles, North Mainland and West Mainland were closed on Monday due to the weather conditions. Schools in the central and south mainland remained open, but many had reduced school transport services.

Public bus services in the North Isles were cancelled, and many ferry services were also disrupted.

Tingwall airport was closed, however, Sumburgh was operating flights as normal.

More than 140 homes were without power for several hours in Vidlin on Mainland due to an overhead line coming down, though SSEN said there was no evidence to suggest it was caused by the wintry weather. Supplies were restored at 13:10.

Coldest night of the year

Meteorologist Honor Criswick said: "We are expecting pretty cold conditions and snow showers over the next few days across Scotland.

"Temperature wise, we could possibly see lows of -10C in the sheltered glens and higher ground across northern Scotland on Monday night, so it's going to be feeling quite cold and the breeze is picking up a little bit so will be feeling rather chilly.

"Potentially we could see some of the coldest temperatures so far this year."

The cold conditions follow Scotland's third mildest February on record, according to provisional statistics.

In January, an amber warning for snow was issued for the Highlands, Western Isles and Orkney and Shetland and the weather closed schools across the north of Scotland.