Bad weather and unseasonal snow causes chaos on polling day
A surprise flurry of snow blanketed much of the country on Thursday causing widespread disruption and delays as Scots went to the ballot box.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning which remained in place until 11am yesterdaymorningacrossparts ofnorth,north-east,south-west and central Scotland.
The predictions came to pass withanumberofweatherrelatedincidentsreportedbytraffic Scotland. A fallen tree blocked the southbound carriageway of the A9 at Daviot, south of Inverness, for just over an hour Thursday morning.
Traffic Scotland removed the tree but warned that the snowy conditions were continuing to affect roads and journey times.
Policediversionswereinplace for some time near Tomintoul in Moray on the A939 after a tanker got stuck in the snow.
Meanwhile, drivers on the M8 and the A720 were warned to take precautions as flurries of snow were also reported in the area. They eased off as the morningwentonandnomajor delays were reported.
The bad weather wasn’t limited to road disruptions, with a power cut affecting the polling place at Gergask Primary School in Laggan. Highland Council reported that the power had been restored by 10am.
Other Scottish voters had to bravethebadweatherandwrap up before they could make it to their local polling stations, with Farr near Inverness in the Highlandsexperiencingseveral inches of snow overnight.
Forecasters predicted that up to 3cm of snow could have built up below 150m, and on higherroadstherewasachance that up to 6cm could accumulate. Bear Scotland had seven gritters out between Inverness and Drumochter on the A9 to try to keep the route clear and prevent any weather related accident occurring.
The early May cold snap comes after provisional figures from the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre suggestaprilhadthethird-lowest average UK minimum temperature for the month since records began in 1884.
Aboyne in Aberdeenshire recorded temperatures dropping below freezing during 25 nights last month.
Mikekendon,seniorscientist at the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: “April has been an incredibly notable month in terms of the statistics.”