New snow and ice warning for Scotland issued

Snow and ice disruption is expected to continue to affect Scotland into Wednesday, after a new yellow weather warning was issued for parts of the country.

The newest alert started at midday and will run for 12 hours, covering Grampian, the Highlands, Orkney & Shetland, Dumfries & Galloway and across Ayrshire.

Aberdeenshire Council said residents could expect "extremely challenging" conditions for the rest of the week.

Wintry weather - including rapid snow showers in some areas - meant dozens of schools remained closed or opened late in the north east and Highland regions.

More than 30 Aberdeenshire schools were closed again, along with around 20 in the Highland region and a further nine in Moray.

Aberdeenshire Council said school closures were mostly due to concern over transport for pupils and teachers.

A spokesperson for the local authority said the long-term forecast suggested disruption could last throughout the week.

They added: "Today, some areas of Aberdeenshire have seen significant and rapid snow showers – posing some extremely challenging conditions for road users and, of course, our services.

"While the Met Office yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in place across Aberdeenshire until lunchtime tomorrow, our own long-term forecast indicates the snow and icy conditions are likely to last all week which may cause further difficult driving conditions.

"We're also expecting very icy overnight conditions with road surface temperatures falling well below zero with further snow showers moving in across the network."

The spokesperson said the council wanted to thank road crews and service staff for their work on the roads, along with local farmers and contractors who have helped.

On Monday, more than 80 schools throughout the north east were unable to open at all.

In Dumfries & Galloway one of the area's largest schools, Stranraer Academy, was forced to close due to a "heating failure".

A number of flights from Aberdeen International Airport were delayed or cancelled after "freezing conditions" meant work on clearing the airfield of snow and de-icing the ground had to be paused.

A spokesman for Aberdeen Airport said passengers should continue to check flights with their airlines due to the weather, despite services restarting.

He added: "We understand how frustrating delays can be, especially during challenging weather conditions.

"While the airport is responsible for de-icing runways and taxiways to ensure safe take-offs and landings, the de-icing of individual aircraft is managed by the airlines and their contracted ground handling teams.

"Aberdeen International Airport has remained open and operational due to the hard work of our team in maintaining the airfield."

The A90 was temporarily closed at Boddam – just south of Peterhead – with reports of heavy traffic to the north of the town, but has since reopened.

Stagecoach has suspended all bus services between Peterhead and Aberdeen until further notice.

Gritting crews have been on the roads in the region since 05:30.

Transport Scotland said travellers should take extra care on the roads, allow extra time for their journeys and drive to the road conditions.

However the organisation's Douglas Cairns told BBC Scotland News that the travel network had "coped relatively well" with the weather on Monday.

He added: "We've dealt with challenges faced along the way. The Highlands and Islands area has been more prone to the weather – that's probably normal for this time of year."

Cairngorn Mountain Rescue Team said they were called out to two simultaneous rescues on Monday night, helping a climber who had sustained a deep cut to their lower leg and a couple who intended to camp but raised the alarm after conditions deteriorated.