Aberdeenshire Council declares major incident following days of extreme snow conditions

A major incident has been declared in Aberdeenshire as extreme weather continues to batter the area.

Hundreds of schools remain closed and several communities are cut off due to heavy snowfall.

Northern parts of the country have been hit by heavy snow and ice in recent days, with numerous amber and yellow weather alerts issued for parts of the Highlands, Moray, Orkney and Shetland, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City.

Satellite images show the north of Scotland turned white by snow. NASA Worldview

Currently, an amber alert is in place for snow across much of the north east and Highlands until 7pm on Tuesday, with a further yellow alert for snow and ice covering much of Scotland north of the Central Belt.

Two further yellow alerts for snow and ice, covering much of the country, were also issued by the forecasters for Wednesday.

Police cars have been covered in snow in Aberdeenshire.

WEATHER WARNING

Major incident declared and schools to remain shut as heavy snow continues

An amber weather alert for heavy snow remains in place for parts of the north east and Highlands after days of extreme weather conditions.

Schools in the area, which were due to reopen following the Christmas holidays, remain closed, with all schools in Aberdeenshire closed on Monday and Tuesday.

A large number of schools and nurseries in the Moray area are set to remain closed on Wednesday, while all schools in Aberdeen will be closed following a risk assessment.

Waste collections in Aberdeen and areas in Aberdeenshire have been impacted by the adverse weather conditions.

Missed collections will be looked at once the conditions have eased.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service has issued amber warnings in a number of mountain ranges throughout the country, including the Cairngorms, Lochaber, Creag Meagaidh, and Torridon.