SCOTLAND is expected to experience its first taste of real winter today, with snow and ice predicted for large for parts of the country.

A severe weather warning is in place for most of the country today and tomorrow, with up to 10cm of snow expected on the hills and around 5cm forecast at lower levels.

A spokesman for the Met Office said the first "real cold blast" of the season was expected, with "pretty horrendous" conditions on the Scottish mountains. The weather could cause some disruption to travel.

However, he said it was too early to predict a white Christmas.

He added: "It does look as though the unsettled weather theme will continue, but we can't really pin down any detail about the actual weather type on Christmas Day itself. At this stage it's still a long way away before we could give precise detail."

Meanwhile, a warning of severe gales has also been issued for most of Scotland on Wednesday, with a risk of storm force winds for parts of western Scotland.