Scotland: Hundreds of schools shut due to snow, freezing weather

In northern Scotland¸ hundreds of schools have been shut after a weather warning for snow and ice was extended until Friday.

The Met Office has warned that snowfall could reach up to 10 cm in higher regions.

The office has issued ‘Yellow’ warning for Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Outer Hebrides.

The yellow warning forecast took effect at 12:00 on Wednesday and is in place until 10 am on Friday.

Overnight on Wednesday, temperatures dropped as low as minus 12C at Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands and Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway plummeted to minus 10.1C.

Following the weather warning, 24 secondary schools, 113 primary schools, 88 nurseries and three special schools have been closed.

In Aberdeenshire, 41 schools are closed while others had their opening times delayed.

School transport services were suspended and preliminary exams were cancelled due to snow and poor road conditions in several towns.

The Highland Council area has been the worst affected by the school closures, with most of the schools and nurseries shut for all day.

According to the Met Office, it will be bitterly cold on Thursday night and the lowest temperatures will be recorded in rural Scotland and rural northern England where there is lying snow, cloudless skies and very cold airflow.

A temperature of minus 14C, the lowest in January 2024, was recorded in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands on January 17.

Road conditions across the northern Scotland have been challenging following fresh snowfall and low temperatures.

The Met Office said: “Sleet and snow showers will continue for the rest of Thursday, dying out by across north west Scotland overnight but persisting across north east Scotland until Friday morning.”

“Further accumulations of 1-4cm are expected to low levels away from coasts with 5-10cm possible above 150m.”

“Where any modest daytime thaw has occurred, icy stretches are likely on untreated surfaces.”