People across northern Scotland are being told to expect a “severe frost” as snow continues falling for a second day.
As cold Arctic air continues to sweep across the UK, the yellow warning issued by the Met Office remains in place.
The warning for the north and north-east was initially due to end today, but was extended after forecasters warned of more cold temperatures across the weekend.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said a “plunge of Arctic air” has brought cold temperatures to the UK.
Speaking on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland he said: “There’s no real strong signals that it will warm up until at least the end of next week.
“Ice will certainly be a problem for places where we’ve seen wintry showers over recent days, severe frosts really. Driving to work you’re going to need to de-ice your car for the next week, most likely on most mornings.
“There will be snow in some places as well.”
Mr Morgan said further snow is expected in the Highland and Grampian area, but there will be some snow in lower-level areas. However, he anticipates light winds throughout the week which could bring temperatures even lower or even freezing fog.
Having started on Wednesday at midnight, the warning is expected to until Sunday afternoon – making it the longest continuous weather warning the Met Office has ever issued.
Multiple schools across Aberdeenshire, Highland and Moray were closed today due to the adverse weather conditions.
The Community Offroad Transport Action Group (Cotag) was also requested to mobilise in the Grampian area yesterday and remains on standby today.
Travel disruption
Drivers heading along the A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road have been warned of heavy snowfall between Bainshole and Keith.
At 5pm, the A96 at Glens of Foundland was heavily congested due to snow falling on the road.
A96 – Huntly/Keith❗️❄️
Heavy snow falling between Bainshole and Keith, traffic is slow in the area as a result and driving conditions are difficult, please take car. @trafficscotland @AbshireRoads @StagecoachBBird @NETrunkRoads @originalfm @NorthEPolice #ABZTravel pic.twitter.com/Cz8xbDF02V
— Aberdeen Travel (@AberdeenTravel) December 9, 2022
Earlier today, it was understood a car left the road on the B993 Kemnay to Monymusk road near Bridgefoot Farm due to black ice.
A police spokesman said: “Around 9.10am on Friday, December 9, police were called to the B993 between Monymusk and Kemnay, following a report of a one-vehicle crash.”
There were also reports of a car on its side, blocking the B9105 between Turriff and Crudie.
A police spokesman said the road is now cleared: “Around 8.15am on Friday, December 9, police were called to the B9105 between Fintry and Turriff, following a one-vehicle crash. The road was cleared by around 9.20am.”
The Cairn O’Mount snow gate, situated at the Bridge of Dye on the B974 heading towards Fettercairn was closed on Thursday and still is.
The A939 at Corgarff towards the Lecht Ski Centre also remains closed.
It's pretty cold this morning, so please take care if you're planning on travelling as some platforms and pathways may be slippery.
We're working where the coldest weather is forecast to ensure station platforms are salted and safe. pic.twitter.com/jqccTQwFJj
— ScotRail (@ScotRail) December 9, 2022
Stagecoach has warned a number of services across the north and north-east are still being cancelled and delayed due to the weather.
Good Morning,
Due to freezing temperatures overnight and icy road conditions services are liable to delays and or short notice cancellations until conditions improve. #Inverness
— Stagecoach Highland (@StagecoachHLand) December 9, 2022
ScotRail services have mostly returned to normal after earlier delays and disruptions, but they are still subject to cancellation at short notice.
Traffic Scotland is urging people to take care on the roads after reporting flurries of snow across the country.
Gritters
Road surface temperatures dropped to around -3C overnight in some areas.
In Aberdeen, gritters have been tasked to the main routes and will continue to go out throughout the day then start at 4am on Saturday morning.
Aberdeen City Council has started gritting secondary routes too, including those near sheltered housing and social work properties. They are also gritting near schools where possible, cemeteries and crematoria, shopping centres, and parks and gardens.
While a lot of pavements were gritted on Thursday evening, Aberdeen City Council has warned many will have melted and frozen over again during the night.
Pavements in the following areas of Aberdeen are currently being gritted: city centre, Airyhall/Craigiebuckler, Peterculter, Bucksburn, Cornhill, Cults, Midstocket, Stoneywood , Dyce, Garthdee, Mastrick, Northfield and Torry.
However, the council has said they “cannot be everywhere at once” and has encouraged those who are able to use salt from community salt bins for their streets and roads.
Earlier this morning, rain showers washed away the salt and then colder road surface temperatures froze the city’s streets.
The local authority is also warning residents that pavements and roads are likely to be very slippery tomorrow morning due to more sub-zero temperatures overnight.
Gritters are also heading out across Aberdeenshire as road surface temperatures fall below zero.
That's our gritting complete for tonight. We will be back out tomorrow morning at 05:40 to treat all of our priority routes again as shown below 👇🚛
Road surface temperatures are below zero shire-wide, so please be careful on your travels and allow extra time for your journey. pic.twitter.com/m7sfONnDuY
— Aberdeenshire Roads (@AbshireRoads) December 8, 2022
This article will be updated with the latest weather alerts throughout the day.
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