Caroline was just the start... now for 42 hours of snow!
Treacherous Arctic blast follows in storm’s wake
THE country has barely had a chance to draw breath after yesterday’s battering from hurricaneforce Storm Caroline – but Scots have been warned there will be no respite from severe weather.
An Arctic blast following in Caroline’s wake is set to bring blizzards and plummeting temperatures.
Forecasters said dangerous icy conditions and up to eight inches of snow will hit swathes of the country, triggering a 42-hour weather warning.
They added that while higher ground will be worst affected, snow is also expected to fall at lower level, bringing the risk of significant disruption.
Oli Clayton, of the Met Office, said: ‘It is quite a prolonged period of chilly and snowy conditions facing Scotland. We have been briefed that where the snow lies, it could get down to -10C (14F) or even -12C (10.4F) on Friday or Saturday.
‘As Storm Caroline moves away, it draws down really cold conditions straight away – and it is only going to get colder from now on.’
A spokesman for Transport Scotland said: ‘Snow and ice are expected and we would urge people to consider this when they are making their travel plans as
‘It is only going to get colder’
localised disruption is possible. The worst of the showers are expected on higher routes in the north and north-east but the Met Office is telling us that snow will also lie further south.’
Yesterday’s storm, which saw gusts of up to 116mph on the summit of Cairn Gorm, left thousands of homes without power. Flights were grounded, ferries cancelled and schools closed across the Highlands and Islands.
A canoeist died later in the day after getting stuck under a fallen tree as the storm blew south over the rest of the UK. He was with a group on the River Dart in Dartmoor, Devon.
Today, all schools in the Western Isles and Shetland will remain closed, amid warnings of heavy snow and 80mph winds – matching gusts recorded during Storm Caroline.
Five secondary and 31 primary schools and nurseries were shut in the Highlands and Grampian.
In Orkney, 33 pupils from Kirkwall Grammar School had to be rescued after their bus broke down next to the town’s sea wall. They were transferred to a 4x4 vehicle and taken to safety after the bus began ‘rocking’.
Meanwhile, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said its engineers battled the conditions to restore power to 13,000 homes, mainly on the Western Isles and in the north-west Highlands. The company was last night working to reconnect a further 3,000 properties.
SSEN said it was well prepared to deal with such problem but could only work ‘where it is safe to do so’. Flights into Stornoway and Kirkwall were disrupted, while a number of services at Inverness and Aberdeen airports were also affected.
ScotRail reported ‘severe disruption’ on routes between Aberdeen and Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow to Aberdeen and on the West Highland line. Some services were delayed due to debris on the line, including a gazebo and a trampoline.
Ferry operator CalMac suspended sailings on eight West Coast routes.