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Weather forces early finish to skiing

Skiers at the Lecht recently
Skiers at the Lecht recently

The beginning of the winter snowsports season was a mixed bag in the north and north-east.

The weekend got off to a good start on Saturday, with hundreds of people taking to the slopes at the Lecht, CairnGorm Mountain and Glenshee.

But yesterday high winds brought a premature end to skiing at two of the resorts.

Only the Lecht remained open all day, despite 40-50mph winds on the higher slopes limiting the number of runs they could open.

In total, the centre had 800 people on Saturday and Sunday.

A spokeswoman said that it has been a “good start” to the winter and that they were hoping for more snow during the week.

At Glenshee, several hundred people were out on Saturday.

But high winds and rain brought an end to snow sports yesterday.

No one could be reached for comment at CairnGorm Mountain Ltd yesterday. However it is understood that up to 1,000 people were at the resort on Saturday.

A message on their social networking page yesterday stated that they could not open because of storm force winds.

Gusts of 90mph were reported at the mouth of the mountain railway tunnel at the top of Cairngorm.

And the poor weather is expected to continue today.

Last night, the Met Office issued yellow warnings for snow in Orkney and Shetland, and for ice across the Highland mainland.

A forecaster said: “Frequent wintry showers, thundery at times, will affect the Northern Isles on Sunday night and through much of Monday.

“These showers will be squally and fall increasingly as hail or snow with some accumulations possible along with the risk of ice. The showers will be accompanied by strong and gusty westerly winds, especially across Orkney. The public should be aware of possible disruption to transport at times.”

Road surface temperatures are expected to fall below zero in many parts of the Highlands as showers pass through.

These will fall as snow above 650ft, with accumulations of more than two inches possible on higher ground.