A yellow weather warning has been issued for parts of Scotland set to be hit by snow and ice on Christmas and Boxing Day.
Forecasters have issued the warning from 9pm on Christmas Day until 6pm on Boxing Day as gale force winds and frequent blustery snow showers are set to cause disruption for people travelling over the festive period.
Around 1-3cm of snow is expected in lower areas of Scotland with up to 10cm of snow in high grounds of the country.
Issuing the warning, the Met Office said: “Strengthening west-northwesterly winds will bring increasingly frequent wintry showers to the west of Scotland through Sunday night and into Monday morning.
“These may fall as snow to low levels for a time where temporary accumulations of 1-3 cm are possible, with 5-10 cm of snow over the hills.
“Icy surfaces will be an additional hazard. Snow will become increasingly confined to higher ground through Monday morning, with a further 10 cm or so possible by the end of the day.
“Strong to gale force winds bring the risk of drifting and blizzards for upland areas, with a small risk of isolated power outages as the snow and strong wind affects power lines.”
It warned that some roads and railways will likely to be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services and there is a very small chance of interruptions to power supplies.
Road users have been urged to approach with caution with some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths likely.
The weather warning covers the Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire areas.
STV weather presenter Philip Petrie said there was a “good chance” of an official white Christmas being declared in Scotland.
“For the big day itself we will see a cold front moving eastwards across the country which introduces colder air and a band of rain and snow move through in the afternoon and then readily behind it we shall see snow showers, with a mixture of sleet down to low levels, through the evening and overnight into Boxing Day.
“The Met Office have issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice which comes into force at 9pm on Christmas Day. This lasts throughout Boxing Day and means we could see some tricky travel conditions for anyone travelling during the Christmas period.
“It also means that there is a good chance we will have a white Christmas, certainly by evening time and on higher ground as we expect to see a few snow showers later on on Christmas Day.”
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