Communities in Grampian and Highlands will be blanketed by fresh snow until Thursday, forecasters now say.
The Met Office has released a new yellow weather warning covering large parts of the mainland.
Forecasters warn that spells of snow are “likely to cause disruption” from 4pm on Wednesday. The new warning is in place until 4am on Thursday.
A separate warning has been issued for Shetland and will remain in place until 11am on Wednesday.
It comes after today’s wintry conditions caused chaos on the roads and forced schools to shut once more.
The latest warning comes after a day of travel chaos across Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland and islands.
Motorists were left stranded in several inches of snow as schools in Shetland and the Highlands closed as a result of the heavy snowfall.
Gritters have been out in force clearing priority routes to minimise disruption.
Minimum overnight temperatures tonight
- Aberdeen 0C
- Inverness 0C
- Elgin -1C
- Banchory -1C
- Fraserburgh 0C
- Aviemore -5C
- Wick 2C
- Oban 0C
- Stornoway 0C
- Kirkwall 2C
- Lerwick 2C
Stranded cars due to deep snow
Cars were left stranded in deep snow across the Shetland Islands as wintry conditions battered the area.
Shetland Islands Council appealed to motorists to avoid travel where necessary as driving conditions deteriorated.
In a statement, published on their social media page, they warned gritters may be unable to keep routes open, due to the volume of snow falling.
📉 It may be mid-March but tonight will see temperatures widely fall below freezing
⚠️ With skies clearing of cloud for many, it will turn frosty with a sharp frost over snow cover and a risk of ice in places pic.twitter.com/4zmR1GIQPU
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 14, 2023
“With heavy snow showers forecast to continue, combined with increasing winds, we’re asking drivers in Shetland to consider whether they need to travel today,” they wrote.
“Increased snow drifts are likely to lead to many roads becoming impassable later. Strong winds, drifting snow and deteriorating weather conditions means that our gritting crews are unlikely to be able to keep roads open.”
The B9075 road through Kergord remains closed to all traffic until further notice due to drifting snow.
Council gritting crews attempted to clear the route, but snow continued to fall and accumulate.
Single-decker coach slides off rural road
On the mainland, motorists have also been hampered by poor road conditions.
A bus taking tourists to Glen Nevis slid off the road, blocking the route to other traffic.
It is understood no one was injured in the incident.
A Stagecoach service between Cromarty and Inverness had to be assisted by gritters after becoming stranded on ice.
The bus operator had warned of possible changes to services due to the conditions, with services in Tain bearing the brunt of the disruption.
Island bin collections hampered by snow
Conditions have also been affecting household collections in Shetland.
Council staff were unable to collect recycling or black bags from households in most areas of the islands.
Lerwick was the only area where collections were possible. A spokesman has apologised for any inconvenience caused.
This comes after residents in Shetland were encouraged to help people in their communities after the islands were blanketed in snow on Saturday.
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