First the wind, then snow, now it’s ice

By Craig Brown
Published on Sunday 18 December 2011 00:00

SCOTLAND is braced for more disruption this weekend after the Met Office issued a warning of widespread icy conditions for the whole of the country.

A “yellow” weather alert – which advises people to be aware of the conditions – was put in place by the forecasting organisation yesterday.

It warned that tumbling temperatures would lead to hazardous conditions today.

The north is expected to take its turn in bearing the brunt of the snow this weekend, after commuters in centre and southern Scotland faced travel misery yesterday morning when overnight falls disrupted travel across the region.

Traffic on the M8 was reduced to a crawl near Harthill in North Lanarkshire after two lorries were stuck in the snow, while the traffic on the M77 Kilmarnock-to-Glasgow road was disrupted by snow at Fenwick in Ayrshire.

Police in Strathclyde, Central, Tayside and Dumfries and Galloway issued warnings to motorists to “travel with caution”.

Glasgow experienced 6cm of snow overnight, while in Dumfries and Galloway, the western half of the region saw heavy falls resulting in school closures, while gritters and snow ploughs were called in to clear roads.

In the Borders town of Galashiels a street was closed for nearly four hours following a mid-morning collision between a bus and a car in snowy conditions.

And while the north of Scotland missed the worst of the weather, a police investigation was under way yesterday into whether icy conditions caused an ambulance crash in Dyce, Aberdeen, during the early hours of the morning, which left the 84-year-old woman it was carrying seriously injured.

Met Office forecaster Peter Sloss said that the combination of lying snow and slush combined with plunging temperatures would create further problems today.

“We’ve seen quite an ice risk recently, and that’s going to be a big thing,” he said. “We’ve re- issued an ice risk for tonight, right through to lunchtime Saturday because there’s a lot of cold air, and there’s showers so a lot of surfaces are wet. Unless they are treated it will turn icy.”

A spokesman for Transport Scotland said that its Multi Agency Response Team had been in operation yesterday morning to monitor the rush-hour following the Met Office decision to upgrade their snow warning from a yellow to amber – which advises people to be prepared – during the early hours of the morning.

Mr Sloss said that though the snow fall had been forecast for central Scotland and southwards, its late appearance may have caught commuters by surprise.

“It was rain at low levels initially, but as the fall got heavier it brought the snow level down lower and lower,” he said. “So I think for people going to bed last night when it was raining and to wake up and it’s snow, that was a surprise to some.”

Aviemore saw some of the coldest conditions of the day, when temperatures dipped to -9C during the morning.

Meanwhile, the Nevis Range ski resort was still recovering from the effects of 130mph winds earlier this month.

However, the centre, along with Scotland’s other four resorts at Cairngorm Mountain, Glenshee, Glencoe and the Lecht, plans to be open for snow sports this weekend.

THE FORECAST

TODAY & TOMORROW: The cold snap is expected to continue, though a north-westerly wind will see wintry weather pushed north and on to the west coast. Daytime temperatures of 3C or 4C across the country will drop during the night to -4 or -5 to produce a sharp frost.

MONDAY: The cold weather will continue.

TUESDAY: A weather front will move in from the Atlantic, bringing with it much milder conditions, resulting in a temporary thaw, even at higher levels.

WEDNESDAY: The thaw continues.

THURSDAY & FRIDAY: Colder air returns, bringing with it wintry conditions.

CHRISTMAS DAY: The weather is still too unsettled to be able to predict whether or not it will be a white Christmas.

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