Snowfall is Scotland's 'worst' for more than 40 years

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Struggle: A snow plough fights to keep roads clear.© John Kilbride

Scotland has seen its worst snowfall for this time of year in more than 40 years, a Scottish Government minister has said.

Motorists and air passengers faced an uphill struggle as Edinburgh Airport and Dundee Airport closed again and some stretches of motorway, including the M8 and M9, were reduced to one lane.

Temperatures overnight plummeted to minus 21.1C in Altnaharra in the Highlands - one of the coldest overnight temperatures on record for December 1.

The Forth Road Bridge was closed at 6.30am after a jack-knifed lorry blocked both lanes northbound, allowing heavy snow to build up. At around 4pm the bridge re-opened to traffic.

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said the runways would be closed for the rest of Wednesday but they hoped to re-open them at 6am on Thursday.

Train passengers also faced delays and cancellations.

Some pupils had a third day off from classes this week. Midlothian Council said their 37 schools, which were closed from Monday, would be shut for the rest of the week due to the weather. East Lothian Council and Angus Council also said schools were closed in their area.

But some schools across Scotland continued to teach pupils stuck at home through a national website - the schools intranet GLOW - and their own internet pages.

Edinburgh City Council said Scotland's capital had seen the "worst snowfall since 1963" and staff have been out in "all weather conditions" to help clear snow from pavements and roads.

The council also said more than 2,000 tonnes of salt had been used between November 25 and December 1. Supplies were standing at around 5,000 tonnes on December 1.

The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) called for all shooters in Scotland and Northern Ireland to "exercise restraint, wherever it is needed," in the shooting of ducks, geese and waders including reared mallard.

BASC director of research Dr John Harradine said: "While birds may well be in relatively good condition this early in the winter, individual shooters, clubs and syndicates should consider local conditions and be on the lookout for unusual bird movements or birds in poor condition and take their decisions on shooting accordingly."

Tayside Police have urged people in the region not to venture out onto the roads unless their journeys are "absolutely necessary".

The force said that the roads situation had again deteriorated with "white out" conditions on the A9, M90 and A90 and snow posing difficulties for all types of vehicles.

The A93 north of Blairgowrie was closed due to snow and the A823 at Gleneagles was also shut, the force added.

Dundee City Council said all of their schools would remain closed on Thursday December 2.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said their crews responded to 2,495 emergency incidents on Monday and Tuesday this week, of which 736 were "triaged category A, life-threatening".

The service said the "extraordinary conditions" have had an adverse effect on response times and on Monday 43.7% of category A calls were responded to in eight minutes. This improved to 53.3% on Tuesday.

The Patient Transport Service, which takes patients to hospital clinics, is currently reduced in some areas, except for high-priority groups such as renal and cancer patients.

Pauline Howie, chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: "It is not surprising that in such extraordinary weather conditions response time performance has dropped temporarily, however all our staff deserve credit for their commitment in dealing with conditions and delivering services in the face of real adversity. We will continue to prioritise responses to ensure that those that have most need receive the fastest response.

"We have implemented contingency plans across the country which include the provision of 4x4 vehicles and support from mountain rescue services, the Red Cross, Coastguard and Ministry of Defence."

For information on other local authority areas, Councils are advising that parents check their websites before the school day starts. Links to the relevant websites can be found by following the link below.

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