Schools through Aberdeenshire and a city centre shopping complex were closed yesterday as winter storms caused chaos across the region.
Thousands of students were displaced for the second time this week when heavy snow and poor road conditions halted classes across the north-east.
In Aberdeenshire, just six remained open – and although schools in the city faired slightly better, each had warnings in place for parents to take account of travel conditions before making the journey.
North East Scotland College, meanwhile, has closed its campuses until Monday.
But those affected who hoped to make the most of the closures with a trip to Union Square were left doubly disappointed.
The shopping centre became the latest casualty of the storm’s high winds on Wednesday, when a panel from its roof flew off.
And yesterday, bosses made the decision to keep the facility in lock down.
A spokesman for Union Square, which also serves as a connection for Aberdeen’s bus and railway stations, said the decision was made in the interest of safety.
But angry shoppers accused bosses of taking health and safety advice “too far”.
“It’s not exactly 10ft of snow – there is a lot in the country but there’s not much going on in the city,” said Ross Weatherby, from Fyvie.
He added: “If people want to go shopping and folk have gone to work in the shops, open the doors and let them in.”
Mary McLaughlin, 67, was headed to the shops for messages when she was turned away.
She said: “I think it’s a bit over the top.”
However, the roads across the north-east were badly affected by the snow – with the A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road down to one lane in each direction at points of the day.
Conditions between Stonehaven and Laurencekirk were particularly bad, with Catterline also hit by drifting snow.
Further north, a bus went off the road and into a ditch at the Toll of Birness, just hours after a motorist got their car stuck in the snow at the same spot.
Last night, police said they had dealt with more than 8,000 calls since Wednesday concerning the weather – including 1,892 calls to 999.
Superintendent Helen Harrison, who is coordinating the multi-agency response to the storm, said: “We continue to deal with a number of challenging incidents right across the country and the response from our officers, staff and those of our partner agencies has been outstanding. We are not complacent through and we will continue to monitor the situation closely in order to keep people as safe as possible.
“Our advice has not changed – avoid travel in the affected areas and keep a close eye on the Met Office updates and from the authorities across Scotland.
“We are continuing to run a multi-agency command centre at Bilston to coordinate the emergency response with our partners and to keep Scotland moving as best we can.
“The advice remains the same – if you can postpone your journey in affected areas until after the amber warning ceases I would urge you to do so. We’d ask employers to continue to allow staff to work flexibly.”
Trains were running between Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness, although some passengers were delayed and some services stopped earlier than usual.
Aberdeen Airport remained open, however.
Teams had to close and clear the runways at about noon after heavy drifts but they were reopen by 1pm.
It and operator Flybe yesterday asked customers to check on the status of their flights before making travel arrangements.
“Flybe, like every airline, has minimum acceptable weather conditions in which we can safely operate,” a spokeswoman said.
“Please be assured that we will be doing our best to ensure that flights operate as normal, taking into consideration any adverse weather conditions.
“The safety of our passengers and crew remains our number one priority at all times.”
Transport Minister Humza Yousaf also encouraged people to stay indoors unless vital.
“The severe amber warning has now been extended to Friday 10am,” he said.
“The main message from us that has been consistent the entire week has been very clear and very simple: do not travel unless absolutely and utterly essential.
“If you do travel, not only will you likely be disrupted there is a possibility you could even become stranded.
“Please don’t for a second become complacent.
“We will do what we can to prepare, but we really need the public to make sure they do their part and they avoid all but essential travel.”
