Disruption caused by winter weather

Jan 21 2013

Heavy snow caused travel disruption and forced dozens of schools in Scotland to close as forecasters warned of more to come.

Southern, central and eastern parts of the country were worst affected, with about 9cm of snow falling in Eskdalemuir in the Borders.

Amber "be prepared" weather warnings from the Met Office remain in place for Tayside, Fife, Grampian, the Highlands and the Borders into Tuesday.

High winds also forced restrictions for high vehicles on the Forth Road Bridge and Clackmannanshire Bridge.

Drivers have been advised to be aware of reduced visibility, obscured road markings and the risk of ice patches.

Rail routes remained largely unaffected but there were several flight cancellations between London City, Heathrow and the East Midlands to Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

Borders Council said 17 schools were closed but are set to reopen on Tuesday along with others in Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perth & Kinross and Moray.

Tony Conlan, a forecaster with Meteo Group, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Most of the snow has been falling in the southern half of Scotland, probably heaviest in the Borders, where there has been about 9cm of new snowfall in Eskdalemuir.

"The snow will continue intermittently through the night, pushing north leaving only the west of the country dry."

Scottish transport minister Keith Brown said commuters should continue to plan journeys carefully.