General Election 2019: Ice warnings in place for Scotland on polling day

The Met Office has issued ice alerts for large areas of Scotland as the mercury is set to fall ahead of the general election.

Two 'yellow' ice warnings are in force from tonight to Thursday between the hours of 6pm and 10am as forecasters predict icy patches and wintry showers to sweep across The Highlands, Perth and Kinross, Tayside and Central Scotland as well as further south: Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Lanarkshire and West Lothian.

The chilly weather may cause early election transport disruption although all polling stations in the UK remain open to 10pm.

Met Office meteorologists cautioned the public againstinjuries from slipson frozen surfaces and urged drivers to take care of icy patches on untreated roads. Picture: JPIMedia

The new alerts come just as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) issued 27 flood warnings on Wednesday morning, in addition to 13 flood alerts.

A turbulent week for weather

Heavy rain wreaked havoc across the west of Scotland on Tuesday while winds of up to 60mph pummeled eastern and southern areas.

The weather contributed to a "considerable" amount of mud falling from a hillside to cover up to 120m of Kylerhea Road on Skye, cutting off the village of the same name.

Ice warnings are in place for the north and south of the nation today and tomorrow. Picture: Met Office

Meanwhile, the A1 motorway between Edinburgh and the English border was shut off as high winds tipped over lorries near East Lothian.

"We have showers passing through many parts of the UK today, and there's a risk of that turning to ice and there could be some snow in parts of Scotland," said Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon.Mr Claydon explained that wintry showers were only expected in areas above 200m, and said: "We are not expecting they will cause any real disruption."That is why it is an ice warning, rather than a snow warning."

Voting disruption fearsOne candidate in Scotland's most marginal seat not affected by today's warnings has already said she believes weather could affect the vote.Wendy Chamberlain, who is standing as a Liberal Democrat in North East Fife, said: "There is one part of the constituency near the north, Gauldry, and we were going up it and I said if it's snowing on December 12 this is probably a place we're not getting to."I think it means that postal votes will be quite critical and a lower turnout might have an impact as well."