Extreme weather leaves Scotland battered but unbowed

By ALISTAIR MUNRO
Published on 06/02/2013 07:54

HIGH winds, stormy seas, ­blizzards, black ice and slush caused major disruption across Scotland for a second day running yesterday

The Met Office has issued ­yellow “be prepared” snow and ice warnings for most of the country, with the Highlands and Islands and Dumfries and Galloway being worst hit.

Thousands of schoolchildren had the day off following white-out conditions, and roads and ferries were disrupted.

Dumfries and Galloway saw a large number of roads closed after lorries became stuck or jack-knifed in the snow and 23 schools across the region were shut because of the poor weather conditions.

A small number schools were also forced to close in Moray and the Highlands and one in West Lothian.

Blizzard conditions affected many of Scotland’s major routes. A lorry overturned on the M74 in Dumfries and Galloway and a lorry fire closed the A90 near Perth.

Black ice was believed to have caused accidents on the M90 at Kinross and the A94 at Perth aerodrome, where a car overturned.

There were also closures on the A93 at Spittal of Glenshee and the A939 Ballater to Corgaff road.

On the west coast, ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne tried to re-establish services but high winds kept many boats in harbour. Sailings were cancelled in Oban, Tiree, Mallaig, Armadale, Canna and Coll.

NorthLink was running restricted services between Aberdeen, Shetland and Orkney, with last night’s departure from Aberdeen to Lerwick cancelled.

On Fair Isle, a massive wave smashed down a wall at South Lighthouse, with debris being washed more than 200 yards inland. The huge wave could be seen approaching the island for an hour before it hit land.

The wintery weather is forecast to continue for the rest of the week.