FORECASTERS say that winter has arrived in force with snow and plunging temperatures predicted for many areas.

Snow hit many parts of the Highlands yesterday and yellow "be aware" weather warnings issued for the area, along with Grampian, Tayside and Fife, remain in force until this afternoon.

The turn towards colder temperatures comes after last week's "weather bomb" brought storms to much of northern Britain.

Low pressure over the Atlantic led to two days of rain and gale force winds, while lightning struck 5,000 times across the Western Isles and northern Scotland.

The Met office say that tonight could be the coldest of the year, with the thermometer expected to drop to as slow as minus eight in Braemar and Aviemore, while Glasgow should be braced for a frosty night.

The first major snowfalls of the year brought hazardous driving conditions on the roads on Friday, and were blamed for several incidents on snowbound routes.

Three Chinese students on a trip to the highlands escaped without injury when their car veered off the road in wintery conditions and narrowly avoided falling down a verge on the A9. All three were rescued by passersby who called for a recovery vehicle.

A spokeswoman for the Met office said that most of the snow will fall on higher ground and that motorists should take care when driving today.

She said: "We are expecting to see around 2-3 inches of snow on high ground over 100 yards, so motorists will have to be careful on high roads, especially in Moray and Grampian today.

"Winter is here and the temperature will drop considerably overnight in many parts, leading to what could be the coldest night of the year so far.

"Saturday night will be bright and clear and this usually leads to colder temperatures, so anyone venturing out should wrap up warm."

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution (SHEPD) said that despite gale force winds and huge waves, it was lightning which caused the most damage to the electricity network during last week's storms.

It said bolts struck six wooden poles on the transmission network on Skye, causing region-wide power loss across the Western Isles on two occasions.

Bosses said that when lightning struck equipment directly it added to the time it took to restore power to customers because new equipment had to be installed.

Alan Broadbent, director of engineering at SHEPD, said: "We prepared for the storm with hundreds of additional staff and resources.

"We knew that lightning would be a feature of this so-called weather bomb but predicting the intensity and frequency of strikes is almost impossible.

"We have equipment that can protect against lightning strikes, however, every so often a strike is too intense for even the most advanced level of protection."