The Met Office has issued new yellow and amber weather alerts due to significant snowfall and icy conditions that are affecting large regions of the country. This situation is particularly severe in Scotland, where areas located north of the central belt are experiencing treacherous winter weather, leading some roads to be classified as "impassable."
To combat these challenging conditions, snowploughs are actively clearing railway tracks, including those in Kintore, Aberdeenshire, and further north toward Wick. Residents can expect heavy and persistent snow showers across regions like Orkney, Shetland, the north-west highlands, and the north-east, with forecasts indicating that an additional 20 to 30 centimeters of snow could accumulate overnight on Sunday.
A representative from the Met Office stated: "Snow showers are anticipated to persist throughout the weekend, propelled inland by strong northerly winds. While these winds may start to decrease on Sunday, the most significant snow activity will likely remain along coastal areas. It's expected that the snowfall will begin to diminish by Monday morning, but temperatures inland will probably stay below freezing, preventing any melting of the snow that has already fallen.
Regarding additional snow accumulation, we could see another 2 to 5 centimeters, or even up to 10 to 15 centimeters in lower-lying areas, through the weekend and into Monday morning. Above 200 meters, particularly in the north-west Highlands and Grampians, accumulations could reach between 15 to 30 centimeters."
On Sunday morning, a fleet of 32 gritters was deployed in Aberdeenshire, where certain parts of the road network have been reported as impassable. Kennethmont in Aberdeenshire has been notably affected, with reports of exceptionally heavy snowfall according to Network Rail.
A spokesperson for the Highland Council commented: "Due to the combination of strong winds and ongoing snowfall overnight, drifting snow along with freezing temperatures is resulting in very difficult travel conditions across various areas within the Highland Council jurisdiction. Our road maintenance teams are implementing a full weekday gritting service today to clear snow and ice from as many routes as possible; however, some locations remain quite challenging to navigate. In regions such as Easter Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, many local roads are currently impassable, and we advise only essential travel as our teams, along with local contractors, concentrate on maintaining primary routes."
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