Latest updates:
- Police Scotland has issued a travel warning across the whole country
- Man sent text to family “to say goodbye” fearing he would die after falling into frozen river
- LIVE TRAFFIC UPDATES: Routes made impassable and several major motorways disrupted
- Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou comes to rescue of stranded driver stuck in snow
- Council breaks up ice on ponds after concerns raised following deaths of young boys in frozen lake
- Glasgow Airport’s runway has reopened after teams worked to clear it of snow and ice
- Schools and nurseries have been forced to close on Friday after transport was disrupted
- Thousands of people on Shetland are in their fifth day without power as more than 100 engineers work repair lines
- Energy companies have “stolen Christmas”, campaigners have claimed, as they prepare to protest over soaring energy bills in Glasgow
- Delays and cancellations to rail and air travel are likely while Network Rail staff walk out in the second 48-hour strike meaning almost no trains on Scotland’s tracks
An amber alert for snow was lifted after being issued at short notice covering Glasgow and much of the central belt.
Yellow weather warnings remain in place for much of the country as temperatures plunge below freezing.
Police Scotland has issued a travel warning across the entire country advising people venturing out to be cautious after snow arrived earlier than originally forecast.
Travel delays on roads are likely, stranding some vehicles and passengers, the Met Office warned, with a good chance some rural communities to the north of the city could become cut off.
Power cuts are likely and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected.
The Met Office issued the unexpected update at 4am on Friday with it coming into force at 5am.
The lowest temperatures recorded overnight were -13C in Braemar and -13.5C at Loch Glascarnoch in the north Highlands.
STV meteorologist Sean Batty says readings from personal weather stations suggest Carrbridge, Dulnain Bridge Grantown and Cromdale were probably the coldest spot with lows of -15C.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf’s visit to the University of Strathclyde Health Technologies Cluster has been cancelled due to the weather.
Wintry weather is expected across much of Scotland on Friday with yellow weather warnings for snow and ice in force across a wider area.
Southwest Scotland and southern parts of the Highlands are affected after the warning came into effect from 6am, lasting until 9pm.
Met Office
Insight Philip Petrie STV weather presenter
We have been keeping an eye on a large area of rain spreading in from the west through Friday morning. Originally different weather models were suggesting this would affect the central belt with some heavy snow, but on Thursday the tracking of the snow shifted northwards and seemed to miss the central belt.
However overnight the track of the band of rain shifted once again and moved across central areas. At 1am the weather station at Bishopton in Renfrewshire was recording no snow, by 2am there was 4cm of snow being recorded and at 4am Bishopton was reporting 6cm of snow.
This prompted the Met Office to issue an amber weather warning for snow covering parts of Falkirk, Fife, Stirling, Argyll and Bute, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, and Perth and Kinross. The warning lasts until 12pm Friday. During the warning period it is expected we could see 5-10cm accumulating, even down to lower levels, but from late morning the snow at low levels will turn increasingly to sleet or rain.
A yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in place until 9pm Friday, which covers a larger part of the country and further outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow will spread across southern, central and western parts through the day.
We could also see some freezing rain in places where sleet or rain falls onto frozen surfaces – leading to icy conditions.
SSENIt comes after heavy snow in the north of Scotland which has left thousands of homes in Shetland without power for several days.
The Scottish Government declared a major incident on Tuesday after thousands of homes lost power in Shetland on Monday afternoon as heavy snowfall brought down lines.
Engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution have warned that some people in Shetland could be without power into the weekend as hundreds work to repair the faults.
More than 100 schools across Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands have also been closed as a result of the weather.
Traffic Scotland said on Friday morning that snow is affecting many major trunk roads and urged people to drive with care.
The amber weather warning, which is in force until midday, covers central Scotland as well as parts of Fife, Perth and Kinross, South Lanarkshire and Argyll and Bute.
The yellow warning of snow and ice for Shetland is in place until 10am, while the warning on the mainland is in force until 9pm on Friday.
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