The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Arctic blast promises skiers good weekend
Forecast: Snow showers expected across Tayside and Fife, as mercury set to plummet
Courier Country is set to be blasted by Arctic conditions at the weekend with the mercury plummeting to as low as -10C.
The Met Office is forecasting widespread frost, particularly in western Perthshire, with scattered snow showers predicted across Tayside and Fife.
The drop in temperatures comes after the region was deluged by downpours, which resulted in localised flooding in some areas.
Leuchars in Fife was one of the wettest areas, with 19mm of rain over the course of 24 hours, while Strathallan in Perthshire recorded 13mm. In comparison Inverbervie in the Mearns had just 4mm of rain over the same period.
A Met Office spokesman said western Perthshire would see the weekend’s lowest temperatures.
He said: “The weather is due to change. The air will come from a much more northerly direction and because of that it’s going to feel very cold.
“It is easily possible for Dundee to fall below -5C.
“Saturday night could see temperatures down to -10C in western Perthshire.
“Cold skies mean the ground will cool
“Saturday night could see temperatures down to -10C in western Perthshire. MET OFFICE SPOKESMAN
very quickly and we will see widespread frost.
“We anticipate that these conditions will remain in place until at least Monday.”
Despite the freezing temperatures, the weekend will be dry and sunny throughout.
Stronger winds from the south are then expected to pick up from Monday.
Meanwhile, staff at Scotland’s biggest ski centre are gearing up for an influx of snowsport lovers this weekend.
Wintry conditions at Glenshee Ski Centre throughout the past week have already led to enough snowfall for several runs to open, with management now hoping more than 1,000 people will flock to the site at the weekend.
Hundreds have already made their way there this week, with six runs on the Cairnwell side of the resort open yesterday morning.
In a post online the centre said they had had an extra inch of snow overnight and into Friday morning and were hopeful of further flurries.
The centre’s finance manager, Sarah Mcguire, said she was hoping “at least” 1,000 people will attend this weekend.
Mrs Mcguire added: “We are definitely planning to be open at the weekend – temperatures have been stuck quite low.”
Other parts of Scotland could experience temperatures as low as -14C, potentially making this weekend the coldest since 2010.
The winter of 2010-2011 saw the coldest December since Met Office records began in 1910, with an average temperature of -1C. On December 2 the lowest temperature of the winter, -21C, was recorded at Altnaharra, Sutherland.