Three-day blizzard to bring power cuts and transport chaos

SCOTLAND is braced for transport chaos and power cuts as blizzards and sub-zero temperatures sweep the country.

Forecasters issued a three-day weather warning as a cold front sweeping in from the North is expected to bring heavy snow and temperatures as low as -6C (21F).

The Met Office warned of disruption on the transport network, a spike in injuries due to falls and potential power cuts caused by lightning.

They say cold air sweeping down from Greenland and Iceland will follow wet-weather fronts moving in from the Atlantic.

Weather men say this will produce blizzard conditions on the hills and even snow at lower levels from 6pm tonight until 11am on Wednesday.

Last night, power firms said they were moving repair teams into place to prepare for any difficulties.

Conditions have remained relatively calm since the country was hit by Storms Dylan and Eleanor over New Year.

But strong winds of up to 54mph hit the west coast yesterday, which resulted in all 27 Cal Mac ferry routes being either cancelled, delayed or disrupted.

The company said that this morning’s early crossings between Ardrossan and Brodick have also been called off due to the weather.

Passengers hoping to travel from Oban to Castlebay this week are being advised to make the journey today due to the severe weather expected later in the week.

Although it will be blustery in the early stages of this week, wind speeds are expected to pick up significantly on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.

The Met Office yellow ‘be aware’ warning for today, tomorcontinuing row and Wednesday states: ‘Frequent and heavy hail and snow showers are likely to affect many parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland from Monday evening, for much of the day on Tuesday. Travel delays on roads are possible, with a small chance of cancellations to public transport.

‘There is a chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected.

‘In addition, some roads and pavements may become icy, increasing the chance of injuries from slips and falls.

‘This warning has been updated into Wednesday.’

Schools in the North may be forced to close if roads become too dangerous to allow

‘Frequent and heavy snow’

for pupils to be transported safely.

Officials at Glasgow Airport will be anxious to avoid a repeat of last month, when snow closed the runways for several hours on two occasions.

It comes just weeks after heavy snow forced Glasgow Airport to shut at the end of last year after receiving four inches (10cm) of snow, causing waves of cancellations and diversions.

For two hours on December 29, all flights in and out of the airport were cancelled as workers battled to clear the runway and taxi areas of the largest snowfall anywhere in the UK.

In Edinburgh, gritters scrambled to keep roads in and out of the city open to traffic as tens of thousands arrived for the Hogmanay celebrations.