First big snowfall of winter sparks weather warning

SCOTLAND is facing heavy snowfalls and temperatures dropping as low as -5c today, as an icy blast moves in from the west.

Severe weather warnings are in place for much of the country, with hazardous driving conditions expected.

Up to six inches (15cm) of snow is predicted on higher ground as the mercury plummets.

On Sunday night a chilly -4.7c was recorded in Katesbridge, County Down, in Northern Ireland, and that cold snap was expected to hit Scotland overnight and into today.

The conditions will see rain turning to snow in places today and into tomorrow, bringing accumulations of up to around three inches in some hilly areas above 650ft, with as much as six inches possible above 1,000ft.

Snow could also fall at lower levels. The Met Office has put in place a ‘be aware’ weather warning for all areas of Scotland, except Orkney and Shetland, and is asking people to prepare for potentially ‘difficult driving conditions’.

The warning will remain in place from midday today till 9am tomorrow. Temperatures are set to improve on Thursday, with snow turning back to sleet and rain.

A Met Office spokesman said yesterday: ‘We have still got the odd few showers around and then this weather system starts to spread in from the west, clouding things over as we go through the morning.

‘And then that rain is bumping into that cold air, so we are likely to see a spell of snow, particularly over the higher ground, but also perhaps down to some lower levels than we have seen.

‘That band begins to fizzle out though as we go through Tuesday night, so that by the time we get through to Wednesday morning, there is just a lot of cloud around, perhaps a bit of patchy snow still in some places, but becoming much lighter and probably more likely to turn back to sleet or rain.

‘With the cloud and everything coming through we should see the temperature starting to recover a little bit. On Wednesday, it will be about 6-7c in the day in Glasgow and Aberdeen. By Thursday it gets to about 7-8c. So there is a gradual trend upwards in temperature.’

He explained that the cold air arriving from Northern Ireland would not have changed much as it crossed to Scotland so similar low temperatures were expected.

He added: ‘It is very typical weather for this time of year. Obviously, October was quite mild, especially across the West of Scotland, so it is a bit of a change.

‘This is the first widespread snow event of the year, even for Scotland. Although [the country] is used to it, it still will catch people out.’

The RAC predicts breakdowns to rocket 20 per cent in snow-hit regions.

Spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘Don’t be caught unawares by the sudden snow.

‘Pack a fully charged mobile phone and blanket, slow down and expect disruption.’

Meanwhile, bookmakers Ladbrokes cut odds on November being the coldest for more than 100 years – beating 1919’s record 2.3c average UK temperature – from 10/1 to 6/1.

Spokesman David Williams said: ‘Punters are convinced a big freeze will stick around.’ The cold spell could provide the first opportunity to test drive the Scottish Government’s new live gritter patrol app.

Launched this month, the online app allows you to track trunk road patrols, so you can see where and when gritters were active.

Launching the service at Glasgow’s Science Centre last month, Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘Last year we cleared the trunk roads of ice and snow 11,000 times so we have maintained our salt stocks and we have more winter plant available than ever before, with 208 gritters at our disposal.’

This October has been the warmest and driest in much of the country since records began.

Northern Scotland recorded 112 hours of sunshine, which outstripped the previous record of 102 hours set in 1939.