Snow disruption Scotland: the school and road closures caused by the cold weather - and weekend forecast

The Queensferry Crossing was closed for three hours due to falling ice

Snowfall in Scotland has caused major disruptions across the country, with roads and schools being forced to close in some areas.

A Met Office yellow weather warning for snow, ice and heavy rain has been in place since 2 December, with adverse weather conditions set to continue into the weekend.

Residents in Edinburgh even experienced a rare “thundersnow” phenomenon as a result of the cold weather.

There has been heavy snow and ice patches across areas of Scotland, causing travel disruption (PA Media)

Here’s everything you need to know about road closures, school closures and continued disruption across the country.

What roads were closed?

Freezing temperatures, high winds and heavy rainfall caused disruption to many of the country’s roads on Friday 4 December.

The Queensferry Crossing, linking the M90 between Edinburgh and Fife, was closed to traffic at 6am due “falling ice and snow”.

The three-hour closure caused enormous traffic queues before it reopened just before 9am.

Traffic was diverted over the Kincardine Bridge linking Falkirk and Fife, which affected the M90, M92 and M91 roads.

Transport Scotland has been criticised as the crossing also had to close last winter after ice was reported to have fallen on vehicles.

The M74 was also closed southbound near Glasgow on Friday morning due to reports of a jackknifed lorry, opening just after 10am.

Drivers have been warned to “remain cautious” by Traffic Scotland, as bad weather still remains in the area and gritters are working to keep it clear.

In South Lanarkshire, the A70, the B7076 and the A72 were all off limits to traffic to allow for snow to be cleared.

And in North Ayrshire, the A760 between Largs and Kilbirnie was also shut off.

Further north, the A96 Huntly to Inverurie road and the A90 north and southbound to Stonehaven were closed to traffic.

There was also a Police Scotland incident at the A70 Lanark Road West, which was closed after a lorry became stuck.

Many other roads and routes across the country were being gritted and cleared on Friday morning to allow for traffic to pass through.

Traffic Scotland issued advice for driving in icy conditions, which included wearing warm clothing, clearing all windows before setting off, increasing stopping distance by ten times, and telling someone your estimated time of arrival.

What schools have been affected?

Schools across Scotland were closed to pupils and staff on Friday 4 December due to the weather conditions.

In Aberdeen, Charleston School was closed due to a problem with heating in the building.

Sanquhar Academy and Sanquhar Primary School in Dumfries and Galloway were also closed, which the council said was due to “snow or ice” and “staff shortage due to road conditions”.

More than 20 schools were closed in the Highlands after heavy snowfall caused widespread disruption.

That included institutions in Kingussie, Carrbridge, Grantown, Stratherrick and Daviot.

Meanwhile, in South Lanarkshire, many schools in the area were affected by the weather, with schools in Clydesdale having a delayed start at 10am.

If you want to check closure updates for your school, visit your local council’s website which can be found using this postcode tracker.

What are the weather warnings for the rest of the weekend?

While the Met Office has removed its weather warnings for snow and ice, disruptive weather conditions are set to continue in Scotland.

There is currently a yellow warning for persistent, heavy rain over the Central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, Highlands, south west Scotland and Border areas.

The weather warning is in place from 6am on Friday 4 December until 6am on Saturday 5 December.

The Met Office has said “flooding of homes and businesses is likely”, while there will be further travel disruptions to roads and rail services.

The forecaster said to expect: “Further persistent rain, heavy at times, developing on Friday afternoon, continuing on Friday night. Further rainfall accumulations of 20 to 40 mm are expected quite widely and over some hills and mountains 60mm may fall.”