Cold snap brings heavy snowfall

Wintry conditions in Denny, central Scotland

Spring seemed a long way off for many Britons as much of Scotland and Northern Ireland were blanketed by snow.

A band of Arctic weather has begun making its way across the UK, bringing heavy snowfall and difficult driving conditions in some parts.

Warnings were issued to motorists in the Stirling area, and in Perthshire the major A9 route was affected.

Conditions are expected to worsen as the band of weather moves northwards towards the Highlands, where up to 6-10ins (15-25cm) of snow is predicted over the course of the weekend.

Andy Ratcliffe, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: “Overnight saw a band of rain, sleet and snow over Northern Ireland and Scotland and this has continued to spread northwards.

“The risk of snow will become confined to northern parts of Scotland later, elsewhere it will turn to rain.

“The north west will be affected in particular, where winds will also strengthen through tomorrow and we will see blizzard conditions.”

Low-lying areas in central Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, and northerly parts of Northern Ireland are expected to see falls of between 1-2ins (2-5cm) on Saturday, with up to 4ins (10cm) on higher ground.

Gritters were out on Glasgow’s main travel routes from 5.30am and across Scotland stocks of salt are at the ready.

A 43-year-old driver was seriously injured when his vehicle hit a tree on the A811 between Buchlyvie and Kepculloch Toll in the Stirling area at around 9.30am though it is not yet clear if snowy road conditions were a factor.