Storm Bert: Police warn against road travel on Saturday

Police are urging people not to travel on Scotland’s roads on Saturday as Storm Bert looks set to bring more heavy snowfall across the country.

A Met Office amber warning is already in place for parts of the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Angus.

It runs from 07:00 to 17:00 on Saturday, when there will be an increased likelihood of severe weather affecting travel and power supplies.

Police Scotland’s warning covers all roads north of the central belt.

Additionally, a number of yellow “be aware” warnings for snow, high winds and heavy rain have also been issued for Scotland over the weekend.

Temperatures have dipped below freezing all week, with snow and ice settling across the north of Scotland.

About 30 schools have been closed in Aberdeenshire this morning as well as ten in the Highlands – and many others are opening later in the day.

Moray Council said it was forced to close nine schools due to the weather.

Supt Vinnie Fisher, deputy head of Road Policing, said: “All road users should consider if they really need to travel in adverse weather.

“Listen to media broadcasts for updates, follow Transport Scotland and the Met Office on social media and share information with others.”

Scottish government agency Transport Scotland said roads may be affected by deep snow, particularly over higher routes, and some rural communities might be cut off.

Interruptions to power supplies and telephone networks could also occur.

Douglas Cairns, Operations Support Manager at Traffic Scotland, told BBC Radio’s Good Morning Scotland programme they are expecting “widespread disruption” across the the trunk road and motorway network, as well as some issues on public transport.

He said: “There are a number of weather warnings in play so regardless of where you are travelling to and from I think you are likely to see some disruptive weather in some way, shape or form.”

He added people who do wish to travel should think about if they can “retime, remodel or rethink” their journeys.

• Midday Thursday to midday Friday – Yellow – snow and ice for Highlands, Western Isles, north east Scotland and Northern Isles. Up to 10cm of snow could fall in some places
• 05:00 Saturday to 19:00 Saturday – Yellow – wind gusting to 60mph over the Western Isles and parts of the Highlands and north east Scotland. Gusts of up to 70mph in some coastal areas
• 07:00 Saturday to 17:00 Saturday – Amber – heavy snow for parts of Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Angus. Accumulations of up 20cm on ground above 200m, with potentially as much as 40cm on hills above 400m
• 04:00 Saturday to 09:00 Sunday – Yellow – for mainland Scotland, Skye and Inner Hebrides, temporary snow accumulations of 10-20 cm on ground above 150m, with perhaps as much as 20-40 cm above 300m. Upland areas could see 20-40 mm of rain during Saturday night

On Thursday, schools across the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire were closed due to poor road conditions.

ScotRail said there was also some rail disruption and urged people to check if their routes were affected throughout Friday and into the weekend.