Schools closed and travel disrupted across Scotland after heavy snow
Baku, January 5, AZERTAC
Hundreds of schools are shut and travel has been severely disrupted after heavy snowfall across parts of northern Scotland, according to BBC.
Amber weather warnings expired at 10:00 following several days of freezing conditions.
Drifting snow and ice have left road, rail and air travel impossible in certain areas of the mainland including Aberdeen, Angus, Aberdeenshire, Moray and The Highlands, while the Orkney and Shetland Islands have also been badly affected.
The Met Office has also issued a fresh yellow weather warning for most of Scotland which runs into Tuesday.
On Monday afternoon, Aberdeen International Airport said flights would be suspended until 17:00 due to "deteriorating, extreme weather conditions".
The situation will be reviewed later.
Temperatures overnight in the Highlands fell as low as -9.3C at Tulloch Bridge.
The Met Office warned that another 2-4in (5-10cm) of snow could fall fairly widely in the north east, Highlands and Northern Isles while a few places on the mainland could possibly see 8-12in (20-30cm).
Gritting lorries are out in force across the country to treat roads as thousands return to work and school after the Christmas break.
Bear Scotland said its full fleet of 115 vehicles would be deployed in the north west and south east of the country. Euan Scott, from the firm's north west unit, said it was doing all it could to keep routes passable despite "very challenging weather conditions". He added: "We are working closely with partner organisations, and our winter fleet is fully deployed and will continue to treat north-west trunk roads in an effort to keep them open to traffic." Scott also reminded road users that the yellow warning for snow and ice would remain in place until Tuesday night. Amey, which covers the north east of the country, also said it was working at full capacity to keep traffic moving. Tomintoul in the Cairngorms reported about 19.6in (50cm) of snow was lying in the village on Sunday evening.
In Aberdeenshire, all schools are closed on Monday.
He said that in the 44 years he has been doing this, the snowdrifts are the worst he has ever seen.
In Aberdeen, dozens of schools were closed all day after the council initially delaying openings until at least 11:00.
Meanwhile, more than 60 schools and nurseries across Moray have announced they will remain closed.
Nurseries and schools in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles are also shut until further notice.
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