Carnage of Christoph

Blizzard alert as powerful storm threatens to bring more than a foot of snow

BLIZZARDS could lead to more than a foot of snow being dumped on parts of Scotland this week, forecasters have warned.

White-out conditions are expected to spark travel chaos, while power lines could be brought down.

The Met Office says Storm Christoph will cause ‘multiple hazards’ in the next few days, battering Scotland with snow and rain from two different directions.

The powerful storm was yesterday out in the Atlantic, off France and Portugal, rapidly barrelling its way towards the UK.

More than two months’ worth of rain is expected to fall in northern England over a few days.

But it is the tail end of Christoph that will cause ‘significant’ travel disruption and possible power cuts through Perth, Dundee and Aberdeen tomorrow evening and into Thursday.

As it clears into the North Sea, rain from Christoph will collide with cold air coming down from the north, producing a huge dump of snow for eastern Scotland.

Tom Morgan of the Met Office said: ‘This area will see a very disruptive spell, with blizzards causing widespread travel difficulties on higher routes.

‘This will be a significant fall of snow and it will be wet snow, which means it will form as ice on power lines, potentially bringing them down. Snow will fall to lower levels in areas like Perth, Dundee and Aberdeenshire, with up to 15cm (six inches) in towns and cities. But at higher levels, we are forecasting anything between 30cm and 40cm (between 12 inches and 15 inches) in places.’

Mr Morgan added: ‘We fully expect lots of roads to be closed.’

On Thursday night, the mercury is expected to drop to -10C (14F).

A yellow ‘be aware’ warning for rain came into effect at midnight in southern Scotland and lasts until noon tomorrow. It includes a ‘danger to life’ alert.

The area covered by the warning includes South-West Scotland, Lothian and Borders, as well as East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.

As things cool down tonight, the rain will readily turn to snow over the hills, heaviest above 1,000ft (300 metres), where up to four inches (10cm) could fall.

Forecasters predict that into the weekend the feed of cold air from the north is likely to continue, with further wintry showers expected in the North-West.

‘Widespread travel difficulties’