Winter warning as dozens of flights axed
● Scotland spared worst of weekend weather but more snow on the way
A fresh yellow weather warning has been issued for swathes of Scotland, with the winter freeze expected to bring heavy snowfall early this morning.
Forecasters said wintry showers were expected to bring a further two to five centimetres of snow overnight across parts of the northern mainland, but double that amount could fall over higher areas .
It comes as more than a dozen flights from Scottish airports were cancelled yesterday as heavy snowfall brought widespread disruption to the UK transport network.
The Met Office’s latest yellow warning for snow and ice spans the Lothian and Borders area, Strathclyde, Central, Tay-
0 People enjoy a walk in the snow near Muir of Ord where the temperature yesterday was -11.5C. More snow is expected for many parts side, Fife, southwest Scotland, and Grampian, as well as the Highlands, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles. The warning, issued yesterday afternoon, extends to noon.
With temperatures expected to stay well below freezing early this morning, the Met Office warned drivers they should expect longer journey times in the morning rush hour.
Chief forecaster Nick Grahame said: “With many showers on low ground falling as a wintry mix of rain sleet or snow, ice will be the main hazard for much of the warning area, but with cold air in place across northern Scotland, the showers will be mainly of snow away from the coastal areas.”
Although Scotland was spared the heavy snow which caused parts of England and Wales to grind to a halt yesterday, there was a knock-on effect for scheduled services at Scottish airports.
Four Flybe services from Edinburgh Airport to London City and Birmingham were cancelled along with five BA and Easyjet flights to London. Five domestic flights from Glasgow Airport were also cancelled, as well as Easyjet and KLM services to Amsterdam. Four London-bound services from Aberdeen Airport were cancelled.
Elsewhere, flights were temporarily suspended at two airports – Birmingham and Luton – due to bad weather, causing widespread delays for passengers.
Major roads across England were crippled by the weather, with the M1 briefly closed near Leicester and the A5 in Shrop- shire also forced to shut down. Motorists were left stranded because of heavy snowfall on the M40 motorway, the A34 in Oxfordshire and the A5 in Milton Keynes.
Up to 30cm of snow was recorded in Sennybridge, near Brecon in Wales, while in Calais a P&O ferry with 300 people on board ran aground in high winds, although there were no injuries and the ship was later refloated.
It comes as the mercury plummeted to -12.4C early yesterday in the Highland village of Dalwhinnie, the lowest temperature recorded anywhere in the UK so far in 2017.