MOTORISTS were urged to continue to travel with caution as flood warnings were added to snow and ice warnings as Scotland recovers from the 'beast from the east'.
Met Office yellow "be aware" warnings for snow and ice are in place for large parts of the country until 9pm on Tuesday covering snow spells and icy roads. The forecasters say "delays to travel and public transport could still occur" and with alerts covering Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands , Western Isles, South West Scotland, Lothian, Borders, and Strathclyde.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has now issued five 'be prepared' flood alerts from the melting snow for Tuesday in "lower areas" of Edinburgh and Lothians, Fife, Dundee and Angus and Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen. SEPA warned: "Remain vigilant and remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. "
Flood alert area. Source: SEPA
Thousands of pupils returned to school on Monday after three days of closures last week while pupils in Fife, Borders and West Lothian are due to return on Tuesday.
The Scottish government has said people could still expect to face "challenging" conditions in some areas.
Ongoing bad weather has been slowing down water repair works.
Scottish Water said: "Weather and road conditions have presented challenges in maintaining our usual response services and we apologise if you've experienced a delay in us getting to you."
The aftermath of the worst snow to hit the country since 2010 continues to disrupt the football calendar.
The Met Office's yellow warning area
Tuesday's Scottish Championship match between Dunfermline Athletic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle has been postponed and Dundee United v Queen of the South is also off.
The decision to keep Fife schools shut was questioned by the SNP MSP for Dunfermline, Shirley-Anne Somerville, who described it as "very disappointing".
Carrie Lindsay, the council's executive director for education, said the decision to close all schools had been one of the hardest she had faced.
"I am acutely aware of the need to get our children back in the classroom to continue their learning as well as to allow our parents back to work," she said.
Many transport services were back up and running as people returned to work this week.
Virgin Trains said the route between Carlisle and Scotland has reopened, and it expected to run a near-normal service.
A ScotRail's update said its teams have been working through the weekend to make sure the 2,800 miles of track on Scotland's railway are clear of snow and ice.
"Scotland's railway is open, with a near normal service running on ScotRail routes across the country," the statement said.
"There may be minor alterations to services throughout Monday. You may find some trains have fewer carriages than usual - our trains have taken a battering from the snow and freezing temperatures in recent days.
"We continue to remove packed snow and ice from underneath our trains, which can cause train faults."
Lothian Buses said its services were operating on full routes.
The yellow weather warning advises that spells of snow will continue to affect parts of Scotland, bringing further accumulations in places as well as icy stretches on untreated surfaces.
It continues: "Snow will mainly fall inland and will become increasingly confined to hills and mountains during Monday. Further delays to travel and public transport could occur."
A further warning for Tuesday until 3pm advises that snow is expected to develop over parts of central and northern Scotland early that day.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: "Conditions have improved significantly in many parts of the country but I would urge the Scottish public to remain vigilant.
"Yellow (be aware) weather warnings are still in place across all but the most westerly parts of Scotland, and in most parts ice and surface water will create challenges for drivers on some minor roads.
"The advice from Police Scotland is travel with caution in all areas, and drivers are encouraged to plan ahead and check weather forecasts."
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