A yellow weather warning has been issued for the Highlands with snow expected to fall over the next two days in the run-up to Christmas Day.
The warning will be in place from 3pm today until 11am on December 24.
Depending on the amount of snowfall over that period it may carry on through to Christmas Day leading to hopes of a White Christmas.
The Met Office issued the yellow warning for an area stretching up from Loch Lomond encompassing Fort William and Aviemore and up to Ullapool.
Hopes of a White Christmas
According to the Met Office, Inverness is will not be directly affected by snow but may see a light dusting depending on wind conditions.
Areas such as Aviemore, Ballater and Aberfeldy are all covered by the warning, which stops just short of Fort William.
The snow will start falling on areas above 500 metres but falling on lower areas close to 200 metres into the evening.
Areas above 500m could see more than 10 cm of snow while other areas are more likely to see 0.78ins to 1.9ins (2-5cms).
The Met Office also warned that snow may cause some travel disruption in the areas likely to see heavier flurries.
A Met Office statement said: “Rain will increasingly fall as snow during Thursday afternoon, become more widespread through the evening before turning lighter and patchier in nature on Friday.
“Initially snow will tend to be confined to areas above 500 metres or so, but during the evening snow will typically start to fall to 300 to 400 metres and perhaps fall to 200 metres in a few spots overnight.
“The bulk of accumulations will be above 300 to 400 metres with two to five centimetres possible and in excess of 10 centimetres possible above 500 metres.”
