Travel warning as snow hits Scotland

Sunday 13 January 2013

A week of wintry weather has started with the arrival of the first widespread snow showers of the year.

A gritter battles through snow in the Borders

Wintry showers started in the north east of Scotland yesterday and quickly spread south overnight. Accumulations of around 3cms have fallen in the east and the Borders with more snow expected on Monday morning.

The average temperature of around 2C is expected to fall dramatically and the Met Office has issued yellow "be prepared" weather warnings for Grampian, Central, Tayside and Fife, the Lothians and the Borders, Strathclyde and the Highlands.

Ice warnings have been issued for much of the country with rain and sleet mixing with the snowfall.Paul Mott, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: "Generally, there have been bands of rain and wet snow moving south east across the country with 2cms falling in higher regions and maybe 1cm in lower areas, but it has tended to be slushy as it mixes with rain."Snow will continue to fall in the east through tonight from Aberdeenshire down to the Borders and pushing into England, and there will be a more general second band of snow covering the central belt and pushing north from early on Monday morning. We could see around 3cm falling in some areas and 5 to 10cms in the mountains."Freezing temperatures could be a problem as they fall through tonight and remain low for most of the week creating ice in and around all of the major cities as the sleet and snow falls."The AA has warned that 75% of drivers are not prepared for conditions on the roads, and urged drivers to carry an essential winter kit and check their cars before getting behind the wheel.The RAC is expecting up to 56,000 breakdowns and widespread disruption across the UK. It has placed extra patrols on stand-by to help stranded motorists and said call-outs are expected to rise by 20% or more.Transport Minister Keith Brown said councils have increased amounts of grit and salt to treat major routes."With more seasonal conditions now arriving across parts of the country drivers should be braced for a more testing return to work tomorrow than last Monday, especially in areas still experiencing freezing temperatures," he said."We can expect colder days, overnight frosts, a risk of widespread ice, some freezing fog and snow. While the Met Office predicts that Scotland is expected to escape the most severe weather in other parts of the UK, I would ask the public to remain vigilant and drive to the conditions."Local authorities and operating companies have more salt in stock or on order than ever before, additional gritters and specialist equipment has been purchased, and new weather stations and cameras are helping to improve decision making and deliver better informed communications."A conference call with the Met Office, operating companies and Transport Scotland officials took place on Friday to ensure suitable planning and preparations are in place. The Multi Agency Response Team stands ready to be fully operational should conditions escalate, and Ministers are receiving regular updates."While some face transport problems, others are clearly enjoying the snow. Children in the Borders took the opportunity to build snowmen, have a snowball fight and even cycle through the snow in picturesque conditions.Online retailer Amazon said its sale of sledges in the UK surged by 600%."It's no surprise from looking at the weather reports that Amazon.co.uk customers are sensibly preparing by stocking up on snow shovels,'' said Xavier Garambois, vice president of EU retail."Sledging is undoubtedly the best thing about snow and hopefully a lot of fun will be had by all this weekend.''Tesco said its sales of shovels are up more than five times last week's levels and expects them to increase even further in the coming days.Car products such as windscreen wash with anti-freeze and ice scrapers are already 25% higher than last week."It looks like many people are also looking forward to the lighter side of the snowfall. Tesco Direct has experienced a sudden surge in online interest in products including snow sledges, snow shoes and even a snowball blaster,'' a spokesman said.

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Travel warning as snow hits Scotland

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