Police in Dundee arrived at their snow-covered headquarters this morning - to find the building had been struck by lightning.
Snow and thunderstorms brought double trouble to the east coast overnight, a rare phenomenon caused by freezing cold air moving over warmer water.
And Tayside Police's HQ was struck by lightning at around 6.30am, affecting the phone network across the city.
Emergency 999 calls were not affected but the force had to initiate plans to re-establish non-emergency lines from its fallback facility located in Perth.
Superintendent David Tonks, head of the force's communications centre, said: "Members of the public can be reassured that 999 lines and all other IT systems are not affected.
"The non-emergency system is of a resilient design and has never previously failed.
"However, from speaking to the specialists in this area this morning, it is clear that despite the best efforts of engineers it is impossible to prevent complex systems from being affected in such extreme conditions.
"I am though sorry for any inconvenience caused."
STV weatherman Sean Batty said: "We are getting thundersnow in places because of the very cold air travelling over warmer water in the North Sea.
"That creates large clouds and thunder, especially in the east."
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