Weather warnings for snow, ice and wildfires issued across Scotland

Weather warnings for snow, ice and wildfires have been issued for different areas of Scotland this weekend.

Yellow warnings for snow and ice were announced across most of Scotland’s Central Belt, East Coast and the Highlands including Orkney and Shetland on Friday.

It comes as the Highlands recorded the coldest March temperature in the UK for more than a decade, according to forecasters.

A Met Office alert for snow and ice is in place for much of the mainland from 3pm on Saturday until 6am on Sunday.

Yellow warning of ice affecting Dumfries, Galloway, Lothian & Borders https://t.co/ptK5Xzfmzr pic.twitter.com/eipXmx2CxJ
— Met Office – SW Scotland (@metofficeSScot) March 10, 2023

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service announced an “extreme” risk of wildfires in parts of southwest and central Scotland due to the weather pattern.

SFRS Deputy Assistant Chief Officer, Bruce Farquharson, said Scotland’s spring weather presented the ideal conditions for wildfires.

He said: “We have the combination of vegetation that’s dried out over the winter and frost has pulled all the moisture out of that vegetation.

“It just takes the slightest ignition source and we have great opportunities for fires to take hold and spread.

“So cold, dry days with a little bit of sun make an ideal set of circumstances for wildfires to start.”

Despite the snow and cold temperatures forecasted, we had quite a few raised eyebrows following yesterday's Wildfire Warning. 🌨️⚠️

DACO Bruce Farquharson explains why wildfires can happen in Scotland on cold but sunny days. 👇 pic.twitter.com/GeJPvAzmrh
— Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (@fire_scot) March 10, 2023