Heavy snow caused chaos this morning, with traffic gridlocked, multiple vehicle bumps and flights delayed.
The Met Office had advised snow was on the way for several days, and a yellow warning remains in place for the whole of the north of Scotland.
Snow and ice is expected today and tomorrow, with forecasters also expecting more snow until Friday.
A Met Office spokesman said more than five inches of snow was reported in Altnaharra, Sutherland and Dyce overnight.
In the coming days, snow showers will “continue feeding off northern coastal areas” though many will “peter out” before they get too far inland.
However, with low temperatures, this does mean that any snow accumulations will be allowed to build over the next couple of days.
Dozens of schools across the Highlands, Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire are shut, along with Nescol’s campuses in Aberdeen and Fraserburgh.
Kingswells ‘particularly’ hazardous
Many commuters struggled to get to work due to the road conditions and traffic build-up today.
Traffic Scotland warned of “hazardous” conditions on the AWPR, particularly around Kingswells.
Images emerged on social media of cars driving the wrong way down the northbound carriageway between Cleanhill and Milltimber.
All lanes, in both directions, of the A90/A93 Milltimber junction-A944 South Kingswells junction were closed but reopened at about 9.30am.
Meanwhile, a car overturned on the A90 Stonehaven to Dundee road just before 8.30am.
The incident happened two miles south of Stonehaven, and police and fire attended. Huge queues of traffic built up as the crews make the scene safe.
It is not clear if anyone was injured.
A police spokeswoman said: “Around 7.35am on Tuesday March 7, we received a report about a crash involving one vehicle. Ambulance were contacted.”
Gridlock
In Aberdeen, a jack-knifed lorry caused some delays on the Lang Stracht outside Dobbies while a bus got stuck on the corner of Springfield and North Deeside Roads.
Queues of traffic are building up elsewhere as motorists crawl along the white roads, including the Parkway and Mugiemoss Road.
Some commuters took 90 minutes to get from Ellon into Aberdeen, and said the city was by far the worst for snow. Others took the same time to get from the city centre to Dyce.
In the city, the hills on Argyll Street, Hutcheon Street and Esslemont Avenue were particularly tricky. Several cars got stuck, with kind-hearted passers-by trying to push them up the hill, or to the side of the road.
The runway at Aberdeen International Airport did not open until 8am, causing delays for flights.
A spokesman for Aberdeen International Airport, said: “There were some minor delays to flights this morning due to the heavy snowfall overnight.
“Essential snow clearing operations have been ongoing since the early hours of the morning and we thank our team for all their hard work and diligence clearing our infrastructure ensuring our operations continue safely.”
Queues of cars were also trying to get through Westhill, with many advising others to avoid the area.
‘Huge dump of snow’
Aberdeen City Council said all their gritters had been out to deal with the “huge dump of snow” which arrived between 5am-6am.
The primary routes – the main roads which are about 50% of the city’s roads network – were gritted twice overnight, once from 7pm and again from 4am.
Priority pavements, including Union Street and the surrounding area, were also gritted from 4am.
Snow gates reopen – allowing skiers to hit the slopes
The snow gates on the A939 Cockbridge to Tomintoul, B974 Banchory to Fettercairn, and A93 Braemar to Spittal of Glenshee were closed but have since reopened.
That means skiers have been able to hit the slopes to enjoy the fresh snowfall.
Glenshee said it was “blue” but “very cold”, with -7C registered at one of the lifts.
Cairngorm Mountain Resort also reported similar conditions, with about 5.5ins of snow falling overnight as the base station and temperatures of -4C.
In an online post, the team said: “Some lovely snow conditions with cold, powdery snow. Around 35cm (13ins) of fresh snow in the past 24 hours.”
The Nevis Range is hoping to open at the weekend if temperatures keep falling and the snow that is predicted arrives.
In a post today, the team said: “The covering is still quite superficial but as soon as it’s thick enough our hill team will get a machine up and start building a get on for Tower 5, loading on The Goose in time for some awesome weekend snow sports action.
“Keep snow dancing and fingers crossed it will be a good one.”
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