Scotland’s weather: Scots brace for snow and ice

White Christmas arrived at the Provan family as snow was delivered to the home of youngsters Olivia Provan, six - and more is on the way, according to forecasters. Picture: Jeff Holmes/JSHPix.com

A yellow - “be aware” - severe weather alert was issued by the Met Office from 11am tomorrow until 6am on Saturday.

It said at least several centimetres of snow would fall at low levels and roads could turn “very icy”.

A spokesman said: “The public should be aware of the potential for disruption from snow.

“Please watch for updates to this warning, especially if travelling.

“A depression developing over the Atlantic Ocean is expected to track east then south eastwards during Boxing Day.

“There remains much more uncertainty than average regarding the track of this depression, which in turn leads to uncertainty about the location of the heaviest precipitation and how much snow there will be.

“Where snow does occur, accumulations of 2-4cm are likely even to lower levels and in excess of 10cm possible.”

Transport Scotland said there was a risk the snow could affect south-west Scotland, Strathclyde, Lothian and the Borders.

Its spokeswoman said: “Transport Scotland and our partners, including local authorities, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Police Scotland, are closely monitoring the situation and have additional resources in place over the festive break.

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“As ever, the public have a vital role to play in terms of helping to minimise disruption.

“We would advise people to prepare for some travel disruption, as bridges could be affected by high winds, and driving conditions could be challenging in some areas, so please allow extra time for your journeys.

“They should also check the relevant websites, such as Traffic Scotland, for up to date travel information before they set-off.”

Meanwhile, police warned motorists that all untreated roads in the Western Isles are affected by black ice.

A Police Scotland spokesman said that local authorities had been advised of this.

He added: “Please take extra care when travelling and leave plenty of time for your journey and drive to the conditions.

“Drive extremely carefully when the roads are icy. Avoid sudden actions as these could cause loss of control. You should drive at a slow speed in as high a gear as possible; accelerate and brake very gently drive particularly slowly on bends where loss of control is more likely.

“Brake progressively on the straight before you reach a bend. Having slowed down, steer smoothly round the bend, avoiding sudden actions check your grip on the road surface when there is snow or ice by choosing a safe place to brake gently.

“If the steering feels unresponsive this may indicate ice and your vehicle losing its grip on the road. When travelling on ice, tyres make virtually no noise.”

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