First a weather bomb: Now for the big freeze
Ice and snow warnings as temperatures plummet in Arctic blast
THE slate grey sky, combined with snow on the rooftops, seems to transform Edinburgh’s Old Town into Hogwarts.
But while Scotland’s capital may have resembled a Harry Potter film set yesterday, there was nothing magical about the weather prospects.
The country is expected to be hit by temperatures as low as -6c over the weekend. Forecasters have warned the freezing conditions – coupled with wind chill – will last at least until Sunday.
The prediction came less than 24 hours after the country was blasted by a ‘weather bomb’ – a low-pressure system that deepens dramatically – before being subjected to another weather phenomenon – ‘thundersnow’.
Engineers battled horrendous conditions to restore power to thousands of homes after gales and lightning swept the north of the country on Wednesday.
Properties in the Western Isles and Skye were worst affected. Around 30,000 homes lost electricity and a further 27,000 were cut off after further lightning strikes yesterday morning.
Hundreds of engineers worked overnight into yesterday to restore supplies across the Western Isles, Shetland, Orkney and rural areas, only for more
‘We are not out of the woods yet’
lightning to cause additional disruption. By late yesterday all properties had been reconnected.
A spokesman for energy firm SSE said yesterday: ‘ Engineers have now restored power supplies to around 27,000 customers who were without supply this morning in Skye and the Western Isles.
‘Continued lightning across the Western Isles and the north west of Scotland through the day means that further faults are likely. We aim to restore all supplies as quickly as possible when faults occur.’
Many parts of Scotland also suffered thundersnow – a rare phenomenon involving thunder and lightning during a snow storm.
In Prestwick, Ayrshire, a Malcolm Sargent respite home for young cancer patients and their families had to be evacuated after a chimney was hit by lightning.
A fire service spokesman said: ‘Some masonry had fallen onto the boiler house roof as well as the ground so our crews cordoned off these areas and checked for any signs of fire or damage.’
STV weatherman Sean Batty said: ‘Spectacular lightning north west of Glasgow looked particularly bright due to snowfall. It’s thundersnow – thunder and snow at the same time. Quite rare.’
Last night, a yellow ‘ be aware’ warning for snow and ice was issued until 11am today.
The Met Office said: ‘The recent cold and unsettled weather is expected to continue through to the coming weekend.’
Four inches of snow is expected to fall on higher ground in the Highlands, Grampian, Perthshire as well as Dumfries and Galloway.
But forecasters fear there could be travel chaos, with around an inch of snow and ice at low levels.
Temperatures in the central belt were expected to fall to -4c or -5c, and as low as -6c in Aberdeen.
The RAC said disruption was ‘inevitable’ and advised motorists to postpone journeys during the ‘severe’ conditions.
Dozens of drivers had to be towed clear after being stranded in snow drifts on the A68 at Carter Bar, on the Border, on Wednesday night.
More than 160 gritters worked through the night last night to keep roads operational.
Yesterday, the Forth Road Bridge was closed for an hour by police at lunchtime after reports of ice falling from the top of the bridge. Last night, Deputy First Minister John Swinney praised frontline staff for the way they dealt with disruption to travel and power supplies.
He added: ‘We are not out of the woods yet, but any necessary repairs and safety checks on the transport network are expected to go ahead as planned.’