A weather warning for heavy snow has been issued by the Met Office.
Between 5am on Wednesday and 9pm on Thursday the forecaster is expecting snow to cause significant disruption across much of the Highlands, Moray, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
In a statement, the Met Office said: “An area of rain pushing north-eastwards is expected to increasingly fall as snow, at least for a time, as it encounters colder air across Scotland and parts of northern England.
“Heavier snowfall is more likely above 150m (492ft), where 5-15cm (1.9ins-5.9ins) of snow may accumulate, and possibly as much as 30 cm of snow in a few locations.
“At lower levels 2-5cm (07.ins-1.9ins) may accumulate but there remains a possibility that milder air makes more inroads, with the snow turning back to rain more widely, in this case snowfall would largely be restricted to the highest ground.
“A brief period of freezing rain, which would bring areas of ice, is possible in the western, especially south-western, part of the warning area on Wednesday morning.”
The Met Office said it expects:
- a small chance of travel delays on roads with some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel
- There is a slight chance that some rural communities, mainly those at higher elevations, could become cut off
- There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected
Earlier today a weather warning for icy conditions was issued by the Met Office.
The yellow level alert will be in place between 3pm today and 11am tomorrow and covers much of mainland Scotland.
According to the forecaster, ice is expected to ” readily form overnight as rain and snow clears”.
The Met Office forecast adds: “Rain and snow will clear southwards later Monday and overnight into Tuesday, with a rapid freeze following.
“Some hilly areas will see a further cover of 1-3 cm snow beforehand.
“Ice will become widespread over northern Scotland from around dusk, much of the rest of Scotland by late evening or the early hours, and across northern England later in the night.
Alerts for rain remain in place for the west coast until 6pm tonight, and a snow warning – which came into force at 9am – will remain in place until 8pm for much of the northern highlands, cairngorms and parts of Moray.