Scotland: Snow causes disruption across country

The Met Office has issued a rare red alert for heavy snow fall in central Scotland, warning of a risk to life with vehicles likely to be stranded and communities expected to be cut off. The red warning, which was last used in Wales in 2013, is in place from 3pm on Wednesday until 10am on Thursday in a band stretching from Fife and Tayside in the east to Strathclyde in the west. Edinburgh and Glasgow are both likely to be hit by heavy snowfall brought by the so-called "best from the east".
With most of Scotland's schools already closed and dozens of problems reported on trunk roads, the chaos is set to get even worse with two inches of snow falling in an hour in some places, and up to 16 inches in some areas by mid-morning on Thursday. The agency said roads were likely to become blocked, stranding passengers and their cars, with long delays and cancellations on bus, rail and air services. Police urged motorists not to travel if possible in the areas covered by the red and amber alerts. It is the first time a red warning, denoting extreme weather, has been issued in Scotland since the alert system was introduced. It means people should avoid dangerous areas and followed the advice of the emergency sercies and local authorities.

Amber warnings remain in place for most of the rest of the country with freezing temperatures and an extreme wind chill factor down to more than -20C in the Cairngorm mountains.
Glasgow Airport was forced to suspend flights on Wednesday morning and there were power cuts in the north east. The Forth Road Bridge was closed to public transport, which was being diverted on to the new Queensferry Crossing and the A9 was partially blocked south of Perth.  The weather led to the closure of the train route between Carlisle and Scotland, with other rail routes between England and Scotland badly disrupted.