Heavy snowfall caused travel chaos across the north-east last night, as troublesome wintry weather increased.
Aberdeen Airport was forced to close its runway for almost two hours when snowfall became much heavier after 6pm.
Passengers were left stranded when 15 flights – eight arrivals and seven departures – were delayed.
An airport spokesman said: “The runway was closed between 6.15pm and 8pm as it had to be cleared of snow and slush.
“No flights were cancelled and we are keeping our snow clearance team on standby over the weekend.”
Poor weather conditions caused a four-car accident on the A96 Aberdeen-Huntly road, near Kirkton of Culsalmond, at around 7pm last night.
No one was injured and the road did not have to be closed.
Police said that snow and frost on north-east roads caused a number of other minor traffic accidents.
A police spokeswoman said: “There are a lot of roads that are badly affected by snow and are quite icy.
“There have been some weather-related shunts and bumps with cars, but no roads have had to be closed.”
Five inches of snow could fall on Scotland’s hills and mountains and around two inches could fall at lower levels today.
John Hammond, a forecaster with the Met Office, said that snow will continue to “pile up” today and temperatures will fall well below freezing tonight.
He said: “Throughout the day winds are going to freshen up across the north, which means there will be an increasing amount of snow showers as the day goes on, especially in the Highlands and along the west coast in Argyll and Bute.
“There could be another two inches overnight, and it will certainly be cold enough – it could go as low as -6C in some places.”
The forecaster added he expects tomorrow to be cold but dry.
Staff at the Cairngorm ski resort said they were hoping for a good day of skiing today following yesterday’s snow, and 12 of the resort’s slopes were expected to be open today.
Police have warned drivers to travel slowly and take extra care on icy roads.
A Grampian Police spokesman said: “When road conditions are particularly bad a sensible precaution is to only travel when absolutely necessary.”