A series of stunning satellite images published by Nasa show snowy Scotland, from space.

The rare cloud-free images show Scotland at its best as it enjoyed a sunny day despite freezing temperatures, with deep snow reported in swathes of the country.

The Herald: NASA WorldviewNASA Worldview

Most of Scotland is covered with a thick blanket of snow (NASA Worldview)

Scots have been warned of a further “extreme freeze” overnight as the Met Office said temperatures could plunge even further than Tuesday’s 10-year low.

Temperatures fell to minus 17.1C in the Scottish Highlands, the coldest recorded since January 2010, when the mercury dropped to minus 22.3C.

The Herald:

Orkney, Shetland and most of the NE are completely covered in snow (NASA Worldview)

The Met Office said wide areas of the country are likely to get down into double figures and sub-zero temperatures were expected across the whole of the UK overnight on Wednesday.

The Herald:

Much of the east coast is without snow, as Scotland enjoyed sunny weather today (NASA Worldview)

In 2018, an astronaut has captured a similarly clear shot of the Scottish Highlands from the International Space Station.

The image, which was taken in February on a Nikon D5 digital camera, shows the breathtaking Scottish landscape in all its rugged beauty.

According to Nasa cloudy skies “are common for the region and typically prevent landscape photography from space, especially during the winter months”.

Scottish Highlands.

The photo shows the snow-capped mountains north of Glen Mor, a 62-mile valley running from Inverness to Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe.

The landscape was shaped by geological forces some hundreds of millions of years ago.

Glen Mor is believed to house some of the oldest rocks in Europe and is a fault zone surrounded by many elongated lakes – one of which is Loch Ness.

According to Nasa, the rocky landscape of the Scottish Highlands also shows signs of reshaping by flowing glaciers during the most recent Ice Ages – from around 2.5 million years ago.

In 2016, US astronaut Jeff Williams managed to take photo of Scotland without clouds, which he also described as “very rare”.

Further Met Office warning for snow

And more snow is on its way, with a further weather warning put in place by the Met Office to include Saturday.

The Herald:

UK today: Snow has also reached much of England and the rest of the UK (NASA Worldview)

Snow is likely to spread east during Saturday with some accumulations in places and icy stretches, bringing the potential for disruption to travel.

Not all areas will have snow, forecasters have said, but where it does fall 1-4 cm are possible widely, with 5-10 cm, perhaps up to 15 cm over high ground.

The Herald: MET OFFICEMET OFFICE

In addition to snow, some freezing rain may also fall in places, leading to very slippery conditions. 

Regions and local authorities affected:

Central, Tayside & Fife

  • Angus
  • Clackmannanshire
  • Dundee
  • Falkirk
  • Fife
  • Perth and Kinross
  • Stirling

Highlands & Eilean Siar

  • Na h-Eileanan Siar
  • Highland

SW Scotland, Lothian Borders

  • Dumfries and Galloway
  • East Lothian
  • Edinburgh
  • Midlothian Council
  • Scottish Borders
  • West Lothian

Strathclyde

  • Argyll and Bute
  • East Ayrshire
  • East Dunbartonshire
  • East Renfrewshire
  • Glasgow
  • Inverclyde
  • North Ayrshire
  • North Lanarkshire
  • Renfrewshire
  • South Ayrshire
  • South Lanarkshire
  • West Dunbartonshire