Warning of more snow as families head home

SCOTLAND will be gripped by bitter temperatures throughout the holiday weekend, with a snow warning for many on Easter Monday.

The freezing conditions are linked to a rare polar event high in the atmosphere more than six weeks ago.

In the middle of last month, scientists at the Met Office Hadley Centre detected a Sudden Stratospheric Warming over the North Pole.

The phenomenon is capable of increasing temperatures by up to 50C, with the power to switch winds affecting the UK from West to East.

Forecasters said it would be ten days before the full impact of the change would be known and, at the end of February, heavy snow carried by bitter winds from Siberia arrived – the Beast from the East.

But weather experts believe the Sudden Stratospheric Warming is still having an impact on our weather, as we continue to draw in cold air from the East.

While this will only mean cold conditions today and tomorrow, heavy snow is expected on Monday as this air collides with a weather front coming up from the South.

Last night, Becky Mitchell of the Met Office said: ‘That polar warming event is still having an impact on our weather.

‘It is maintaining those very cold winds from the East, even though the effects are not as severe as they were at the start of this month.

‘By Monday we are into April, when the strength of the sun means it will be difficult for any snow to lie on the roads. But as we move into evening on Monday, there is a greater chance of snow lying, even at lower levels.’ The warning extends to Central, Tayside and Fife, South West Scotland, Lothian and Borders and Strathclyde.

The M74, connecting Scotland with England, sits in the middle of the warning zone and is expected to be busy with families returning home after the holiday weekend.

Miss Mitchell said: ‘We will see tricky driving conditions on higher routes but snow could also fall to low levels as well.

‘We are looking at the possibility of travel disruption affecting many parts of Scotland.’

The Met Office says some drivers could become stranded in their cars and it predicts delays or cancellations to rail and air services.

Some rural communities could become cut off and there is a ‘small’ chance of power cuts in some areas.

Hillwalkers have also been warned of poor conditions this afternoon, with extensive hill fog over the Pentlands and Southern Uplands.

‘The possibility of travel disruption’