Weather warning as snow and ice set to hit west of Scotland

Parts of the Western Isles, Borders and Strathclyde will be hit by snow and ice after a yellow weather warning was issued.

The Met Office issued the yellow warning on Saturday morning, with wintry weather set to continue until 10pm.

Meanwhile a yellow warning for ice has been put in place for the rest of the country from 9pm until Sunday evening.

A band of sleet, rain and snow is expected to hit the west, with a warning for strong winds on Sunday also issued.

It follows a week of heavy snow across the country, with temperatures dropping as low as -23C in Braemar on Wednesday night, the lowest in the UK since 1995.

The “extreme freeze” also saw the mercury plummet elsewhere, with the likes of Kinbrace and Strathallan recording -21.3C and -18.2C respectively.

Fifteen weather stations across the UK also recorded their lowest-ever temperatures for February overnight on Wednesday.

STV weather presenter Philip Petrie said: “”Over the past few days we have continued to see a lot of weather warnings around for snow and ice, but for many it has remained relatively settled – we saw the worst of the snow falling last week and the start of this week with things remaining fairly settled the past couple of days but freezing cold out and about.

“The weather warnings continue over the weekend – today we see a warning for snow and ice across western parts of the country as a band of rain, sleet and snow begins to move in.

“Initially it could bring further snow to lower levels, with between 2-7cm of fresh snow on the hills. Later on, as the milder air moves in, the snow becomes confined mostly to higher ground, and turns to rain at lower levels.

“However as the rain hits the already frozen ground we have it could cause icy patches to form – causing tricky travel conditions on untreated surfaces.

“Also on Saturday night we have a wider weather warning for Ice covering the rest of the country – we will see sporadic freezing rain across the country which is rain that turns instantly to ice as it hits frozen ground.

“There is a higher risk of this through the early hours of Sunday but as the milder air pushes in from the west overnight and throughout Sunday the risk of ice becomes confined to the south and east and on higher ground.

“With this frontal system moving in through Saturday, overnight and through Sunday, it brings with it a strong south-easterly wind. So a yellow weather warning for wind has been issued affecting western parts of the country for most of Sunday.

“Winds could reach gusts of between 60-70mph around the Inner and Outer Hebrides, strengthening further later on to 65-75mph and then easing towards the end of the day.

“As always everyone should take care when heading out and about when there are weather warnings in place, and travel only if necessary and with caution on untreated roads and surfaces.”