Fresh blast of winter leaves scores of motorists stranded and forces schools to close
SNOW brought chaos to Scotland yesterday, forcing schools to close and leaving scores of motorists stranded.
Thousands of pupils were given the day off as dozens of primary and secondary schools in the North-East, Lothian and the Borders shut their doors.
Around 20 lorries became stuck in the Borders along with scores of cars as gale-force winds whipped up blizzards and made many routes impassable.
As gritters worked around the clock, emergency services were stretched to breaking point dealing with calls from drivers trapped in 4ft deep snowdrifts.
Amber ‘be prepared’ warnings issued by the Met Office on Monday proved correct as many parts of the East coast were engulfed overnight by as much as six inches of snow.
Ominously, after a brief respite today, weather experts are predicting another icy blast tomorrow which could last well into the weekend.
The Lothians, Aberdeenshire, Tayside, Perth and Kinross bore the brunt of yesterday’s white-out. Lothian and Borders Police said a number of lorries and cars were stuck on the A697 in Berwickshire.
Kevin Sewell, of the emergency planning unit at Scottish Borders Council, said: ‘We’ve got 20 HGVs and four cars stuck there. Once one gets stuck, the rest all get stuck.’
Four cars were involved in an accident on the M8, near the Shotts j unction, though no one was injured. Roads were under four inches of snow in the Lothians, while cars got stuck on the A70 between Edinburgh and Lanark.
Key arterial routes including the Edinburgh City Bypass ground to a halt as motorists complained of ungritted roads and delays.
But City of Edinburgh Council’s environment convener Lesley Hinds said: ‘Our gritting teams will work round the clock to help keep the city moving.’
The runway at Inverness Airport was closed for several hours but flights resumed by lunchtime.
Aberdeen Airport crews were kept busy de-icing planes while Edinburgh Airport said it was ‘business as usual’ after snow clearing crews worked from 3am to keep the runways clear.
However, experts have predicted more snow, driven by freezing winds from Scandinavia and Siberia.
Charlie Powell of the Met Office warned: ‘Icy conditions on the roads will continue today and temperatures as low as –3c (26.6f) will be experienced across Scotland. Later in the week, the snow will move northward and come Satur- day it will sit over Scotland and barely move.’
Transport Minister Keith Brown warned: We are doing all we can to ensure Scotland is prepared for disruption. Drivers can play their part by planning journeys in advance and using other forms of transport where available.’