The Met Office has today issued an amber level Severe Weather Warning with a forecast of heavy snow falling across much of Scotland from tonight and into Tuesday morning.
Scotland's Transport Minister Keith Brown said the nation's
Multi Agency Response Team had activated
emergency plans to cope with the freak switch in conditions.
He warned: "In light of the Met Office warning for
snow for many parts of Scotland, we have been in touch with trunk
road operating companies to discuss their preparations and how they will monitor conditions at a local level. They are liaising closely with each other, the police, Transport Scotland, Traffic Scotland and other key partners. Snow is not necessarily unusual in April and our winter maintenance season runs to mid-May for good reasons.
"The Traffic Scotland website, variable message signs and traffic radio are being used to provide up to date information to the travelling public, allowing them to plan and amend their journeys accordingly.
"Frontline and patrols vehicles are being deployed across the network and on routes that are likely to be affected by snow. Gritters will continue to operate until the snow has passed and will be further supported by additional vehicles. The Multi Agency Response Team (MART) has also been activated and will be fully operational until after Tuesday’s rush hour period.
"Coming so soon after last week's extremely mild temperatures the key is to guard against complacency. The Met Office advise that temperatures could be 15-20 degrees colder in some places than they were at the same time last week. Therefore the public should continue to check to travel bulletins or the Traffic Scotland website for the latest advice."
The Met Office amber alert is effective from 6pm tonight to 12pm tomorrow afternoon. All the Scottish regions are affected by the warning apart from the South West and Lothian Borders.
The advisory warns: "Rain spreading southwards late on Monday night and into Tuesday will turn increasingly to snow across much of Scotland and northernmost parts of England. Snow will be falling across northern Scotland by Monday evening and will reach the Central Belt later in the night and the Borders and the far north of England by morning. 5-10 cm of snow is likely widely away from immediate coastal fringes across the northern half of Scotland and perhaps the higher parts of the Central Belt.
"Across lower parts of the Central belt we can expect 1-4 cm in places, likewise southwards into northernmost parts of England. Drier conditions will spread slowly southwards across northern and central Scotland late in the night and through Tuesday morning but with widespread ice developing on untreated surfaces in northern Scotland for a time.
"The public should be prepared for disruption to transport, especially in the Amber area. Monday night and into Tuesday turning increasingly to snow across much of Scotland."
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