Snow and icy conditions across Scotland forecast for weekend
- Published
Many parts of the Borders, like Midlem, saw snowfalls overnight from Thursday into Friday
Snow and icy conditions are forecast across Scotland over the weekend.
Southern areas are covered by a Met Office yellow warning until 10:00 on Saturday after snow blanketed much of the country overnight.
A further warning is in place across the mainland from 15:00 on Saturday until 06:00 on Sunday.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has also warned of the increased risk of wildfires due to weather conditions drying out dead grass and heather.
Up to 10cm (4in) of snow has been forecast at the highest levels.
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The warnings currently in place are as follows:
a snow and ice warning for northern and western Scotland until 09:00 on Saturday
an ice warning for the south of the country until 10:00 on Saturday
a further snow and ice warning for most of the country other than the north-west corner from 15:00 on Saturday to 06:00 on Sunday
Full details are on the Met Office weather warnings page, external.
It comes at the end of a week which has seen temperatures plummet, with -16C recorded at Altnaharra - the lowest UK March temperature since 2010.
It resulted in school closures in Shetland, Aberdeenshire and Highland.
The snow warning for southern Scotland from Thursday into Friday brought some snow and icy conditions but did not cause major disruption.
Scottish Borders Council put its winter contingency arrangements in place with extra resources available for snow clearance if needed.
There have been no reported school closures in the region or in neighbouring Dumfries and Galloway.
Many routes saw some snow but Traffic Scotland has not highlighted any major issues in the area.
Fire risk
Meanwhile, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has warned of an increased risk of wildfires due to the weather pattern over the next few days, dominated by low pressure, warm air to the south, cold air to the north and low humidity in the south-west.
Two warnings have been put in place until Saturday, with south-west Scotland having a risk rating of "extreme" and central east Scotland at "very high" risk.
SFRS said that due to the time of year, a large amount of dead grass and heather is left over from last year which can dry out quickly due to a combination of frost, low relative humidity, sunshine and wind, and when ignited it acts as fuel which can spread wildfires over a wide area.
People who live, work or are visiting rural areas in particular are being urged to exercise the utmost caution to avoid fires breaking out.
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- Published9 March 2023
