Grampian experienced its coldest temperatures of the winter today – with the mercury plunging to almost -11C in one rural town.
The freezing conditions coupled with lying snow have made driving conditions hazardous, causing chaos for commuters in Aberdeen and across the north-east.
Police have issued a warning to motorists to take care on “all routes” in Grampian.
Aberdeenshire Council have also called in extra gritters and ploughs to help clear snow and ice covering roads.
Delays on north east roads
There has been delays on the A944 Alford-Aberdeen road at Westhill and queues on the A96 Aberdeen-Inverurie route as far back as the Oyne Fork.
Snow and ice have closed the B974 Banchory-Fettercairn road while the conditions have also left the B976 Crathie-Gairnshiel route inaccessible.
The A93 Braemar-Spittal of Glenshee road was also closed this morning because of snow, as was the A939 between Ballater and Corgarff.
Schools
No transport was running to fifteen schools in Aberdeenshire today, with changes to the routes at a further 12.
Udny Green School was partially closed, while transport was also affected at Dyce Academy.
Record temperatures
In the early hours of this morning temperatures reached a low of -10.4C in Braemar and dropped to -1.4C in Aberdeen.
Met Office spokesman Dan Williams said it was the coldest day in Scotland since 2013.
However, the weather will get better as the week goes on.
Temperatures are expected to drop to -8C in Braemar and -1C in Aberdeen tomorrow morning.
Mr Williams said: “That is as low as they will be for the area for the next few days. You can see the big difference between the coast and inland. It was the coldest of this winter and colder than anything we saw during the calendar year in 2014.
“On Tuesday Grampian might catch light showers, overnight they might be wintry, but we don’t expect that to stay or cause disruptions.
“It stays dry during the day with some bright places during the morning. Top temperatures are 3C, so it’s fairly cold but not quite as cold as it has been.
“Through the evening there could be some rain showers, with temperatures around 3C.
“Wednesday morning is dry with a fair amount of cloud, with bright and sunny spells in the afternoon.”
