Snow and ice yellow alert extended into Friday as 'bitterly cold' night forecast for Scotland

The Met Office yellow weather warning covers Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Outer Hebrides, and is now place until 10am on Friday.

The forecaster warns snowfall could reach up to 10cm in higher regions.

Overnight on Wednesday, temperatures fell as low as -12C at Tulloch Bridge in the Highlands. Thousands of Highland Council pupils have Thursday off as 24 secondary schools, 113 primary schools, 88 nurseries and three special schools are closed.

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

School bus services are suspended on Orkney and prelim exams have been cancelled due to “snow and poor road conditions” at Kirkwall Grammar School.

All school transport provided by the Shetland Islands Council was also cancelled on Thursday. However, some public bus services have restarted.

In the Western Isles, only one school is closed, but six had a delayed opening, while one school is closed in Moray.

Oli Claydon, spokesman for the Met Office, said it would be “bitterly cold” on Thursday night.

He said the lowest temperatures would be recorded in rural Scotland and rural northern England where there is lying snow, cloudless skies and very cold airflow.

A temperature of -14C would equal the lowest seen in this month last year, recorded in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands on January 17, 2024.

But a temperature of -16C would be the lowest recorded in January in the UK for 15 years, since -22.3C was logged in Altnaharra in the Highlands on January 8, 2010, according to Met Office data.

The majority of Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as large parts of the east of England, are separately covered by a yellow weather warning from 4pm on Thursday until 10am on Friday.

A separate warning covering south and west Wales down to Plymouth from 3am to 11am on Friday is also in place.

The Met Office has warned to expect icy patches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, as well as scattered wintry showers.

Snow and winds have brought travel disruption, with rail lines forced to close. Manchester Airport closed both its runways on Thursday morning “due to significant levels of snow”, but they were later reopened.

The airport warned some flights may be delayed, and advised passengers to check with their airline for the latest information. At least 14 departures and five arrivals scheduled to operate at the airport on Thursday had been cancelled.

Car insurer RAC said it had seen the highest levels of demand for rescues in a three-day period since December 2022.

“Cold conditions will last until at least the weekend, so we urge drivers to remain vigilant of the risks posed by ice and, in some locations, snow,” said RAC breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson.

“Black ice on rural roads can be impossible to spot, leaving very little time to react if driving at speed. Sticking to major roads that are most likely to have been gritted is strongly recommended.”

Amber alerts have been extended and will now run until January 12, meaning a rise in deaths is likely, the agency said.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: “We are extending the duration of our Cold-Health Alert, since the Met Office are forecasting that the low temperatures we are seeing will continue further into this week, with snow and icy conditions likely to persist.”