Oh dear, oh Deirdre

Snow in the Borders last night as Storm Deirdre brought plummeting temperatures and treacherous driving conditions to many parts of the country

SNOWFALL and freezing rain caused havoc for drivers as Storm Deirdre hit Scotland, bringing with her road crashes and treacherous outdoor conditions.

Although some yellow and amber weather warnings were still in place this morning, the worst was expected to arrive late last night.

Forecasters initially predicted that flurries would begin falling yesterday morning. However, it was not until late afternoon that flurries began to lie after spells of freezing temperatures, heavy rain and strong winds.

The Met Office had upgraded its weather warning to severe amber “danger to life” level and indicated that heavy snow with blizzards could lead to travel delays and power cuts across parts of the country.

Areas of Perthshire and the southern Highlands were worst affected, with parts of the A9 turning completely white, forcing snow ploughs out onto the roads.

The amber weather warning for snow was also in place for Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, southern parts of Tayside and Fife until today. In some areas of the southern Highlands more than 10cm of snow is reported to have fallen throughout the day.

Wind speeds of more than 60mph in Tiree and Lerwick were also recorded, with 1,200 homes in Moray losing power as a result of the gales.

Bear Scotland had almost 200 staff out patrolling roads yesterday, with 75 gritters and 18 spreaders also out combatting the cold and snowy conditions.

Several vehicles have crashed on a motorway as freezing rain and ice created treacherous driving conditions.

Police in Dumfries and Galloway said “multiple” crashes were reported on the M74 between junction 15 Moffat and junction 17 Lockerbie.

Meanwhile, Traffic Scotland tweeted that heavy snow is causing “treacherous conditions” on the A9 and warned people to expect delays between Perth and Aviemore.