Wintry conditions are set to continue into the weekend across the north-east, according to the Met Office.
A yellow ‘be aware’ alert is likely to be in place for the rest of the week and into the weekend, indicating that ice is likely to remain a major hazard across Grampian, Highlands and Islands.
North schools: The closures, delays and transport issues due to wintry conditions
Nine schools in Aberdeenshire closed yesterday and many more rural transport routes were affected.
In the Highlands, 14 schools and 10 nurseries were forced to close due to severe road and weather conditions, but all schools in Morayshire remained open as usual.
In the village of Dalwhinnie, the mercury dipped to -12.4C in the early hours of Monday morning – the lowest temperature recorded anywhere in the UK so far in 2017.
Elsewhere, the temperature stood at -11.9C in Braemar, -10.3C in Tyndrum, and -9C in Balmoral.
Aberdeen-based Met Office forecaster Stuart Brooks last night said he could not anticipate any melt or milder conditions until Monday at the earliest.
He said: “Tuesday should be quite nice and dry across the whole area with some good spells of sunshine.
“There’s some occurrence of showers on higher ground. It will remain on the cold side for the rest of the week.
“I don’t think there will be much melting at all, so we will still see a lot of snow on the ground and night time temperatures will stay below freezing every day this week.
“There will still be some snow showers on lower levels, but not as bad as it was on Saturday.
“There is possibly the chance of milder conditions from Monday of next week – so that is when we finally see the snow move.”
Mr Brooks explained that warnings would be issued on a daily basis, adding: “When it is these kinds of low impact warnings, we tend to assess them on the day.
“When we expect heavier snow, then we would put them out a few days ahead.”
Some Scottish ski centres were expected to partially open today, with the Lecht, Glencoe and Cairngorm ranges planning to operate runs and lifts.
Least affected seemed to be the Moray coast, with no snowfall recorded and Stornoway only measured 1cm of the white stuff.
Yesterday, Craigdam, near Tarves had a recording of 11cm and Aberdeen Airport measured 5cm.