Stay at home plea as Scots braced for weather’s worst
●Employers urged to encourage home working to beat ‘treacherous’ snow
People have been urged to avoid travel today as forecasts for some of the worst snowfall for years threatens half of Scotland.
An amber – “be prepared” – severe weather warning for up to 40cm of snow is in force from 6am today until 6pm tomorrow.
All schools in the Borders and East Renfrewshire, and around 60 in the Falkirk Council area, are among those closed today.
Edinburgh and Glasgow City Councils sent a text to parents last night saying they would alert them by 7am this morning of any school closures.
Transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “The intensity of the snow we are going to see is going to be more treacherous than anything we have seen in a number of years.”
However, he added: “There is a possibility that the amber warning could be in some areas upgraded to a red [the highest level].”
The warning area covers much of the eastern half of Scotland and the Central Belt.
The Scottish Government said: “Frequent and heavy snow showers are expected, and the police are advising people should avoid travel within the amber area. Employers are being
asked to consider being as flexible as possible with their staff.”
The Met Office said 5cm10cm of snow was expected quite widely, with up to 40cm in places.
It warned: “Frequent and heavy snow showers are expected on Wednesday and Thursday, leading to some significant accumulations developing.
“Long delays and cancellations on bus, rail and air travel could occur. Roads may become blocked by deep snow, with many stranded vehicles and passengers.
“Some rural communities might be cut off for several days. Long interruptions to power supplies and other services such as telephone and mobile phone networks could occur.
“Strong winds will lead to drifting of snow and severe wind chill, while light- ning could be an additional hazard, particularly near coasts.”
Yellow – “be aware” – warnings will follow, covering a similar area for the whole of Friday and Saturday, with up to another 10cm of snow expected on each day.
The last red warning for snow was issued in 2010, although one for strong winds was issued four years ago.
Mr Yousaf said: “The Met Office is telling us that we’re going to see some extremely challenging conditions over the next few days, so I’d urge people follow police advice and to avoid travel in the areas affected by the amber snow warnings.
“The police do not issue advice like this lightly – we are currently sitting at the highest category of amber warning, with the possibility of conditions getting worse.”
Chief Superintendent Stewart Carle, head of road policing for Police Scotland, said: “If you do choose to travel in the amber warning area, you are likely to face a high level of disruption on the roads networks with significant delays or even be stranded on the higher and more exposed routes.”
The Scotrail Alliance with track owner Network Rail has cancelled more than 200 trains today and tomorrow across the east coast and around Glasgow.
It has decided to lock many sets of points between tracks in one position to serve the busiest routes so they are not knocked out of action by snow and ice build-up.
But Andrew Stephen, of the Cumbernauld Commuters’ Association, said: “In the past, services have been abandoned or curtailed and the forecasted ‘chaos’ has not materialised.
“I feel it is all a bit of an overreaction – but will readily stand corrected if things do transpire as predicted.”