Weather warning upgraded to Amber as more snow to hit Scotland

A weather warning for snow and ice has been upgraded to amber, with more severe wintry conditions due to hit parts of Scotland.

The Met Office warning area, which comes into effect from 03:00, extends from the North East into Tayside and Central Scotland until 14:00 on Sunday.

A yellow warning covers much of the rest of the country, with bitterly cold temperatures set to continue for a second weekend.

More than 250 schools remained closed on Friday, including more than 150 in Aberdeenshire, dozens in the Highlands and Aberdeen, and a number in Moray.

Many pupils will have had a whole week off school at the start of the new term, though remote learning has been provided in many cases.

The Met Office warned that “heavy and persistent snowfall” could lead to further disruption to travel on Sunday, with a “good chance that some rural communities could become cut off.”

A spokesperson added: “Ice will be a more widespread hazard, especially overnight as temperatures fall widely below freezing.”

On Friday, Snow closed the Inverness-Wick railway line and a number of local roads remained closed.

However, the main travel routes in the north and north-east have been cleared.

Scotland’s justice secretary Angela Constance said: “As we enter a second consecutive weekend of weather warnings with continued snowfall and cold conditions forecast, I appreciate parts of Scotland are still not back to normal.

“While progress on recovery by partners continues at pace, I again want to thank the public for their patience and understanding that full recovery takes time.”