Amber weather warning for snow for north Scotland

An amber weather warning for snow for parts of the north and north east of Scotland covering Friday and Saturday has been issued by the Met Office, with Police Scotland urging motorists to plan ahead and check before they travel.  

The current forecast suggests that the A835/A87, A9 (north of Inverness), the A95, A96 and A90/AWPR may all see heavy snow, with fresh northerly winds potentially leading to drifting of lying snow and blizzard conditions.

This has led to an escalation of warnings and the issue of an Amber Snow weather warning (medium of medium impacts) from noon on Friday until noon on Saturday for areas of the north and north east of Scotland.

An amber warning potentially means an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather, which could potentially disrupt your travel plans. This means there is the possibility of travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property. You should think about changing your plans and taking action to protect yourself and your property.

Police Scotland travel advice for the amber area is a high risk of disruption.

The Multi-Agency Response Team will be operational, monitoring conditions, co-ordinating messaging and our response, and providing support as required.

Operating companies have deployed extra resources, activated dedicated snow plans for specific routes, and stand ready to provide any mutual aid requested.

Partners held a call yesterday (December 31^st) to ensure preparations were in hand. Transport Scotland chaired the call which featured contributions from Operating Companies, the Met Office, Traffic Scotland, Police Scotland and others. ScotRail and Network Rail also held separate meetings to discuss messaging and preparations for the next few days.

Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop, said:  

“Some very challenging weather and freezing temperatures are being forecast for the next few days and into the weekend. We would urge people to listen to Police Scotland travel advice and check with their operator.

“The Traffic Scotland website gives people access to the latest information on the trunk road network and Traffic Scotland social media channels are updated regularly so you can check if your route is available.

“There may also be disruption on other modes of transport, so please check with your operator before setting off.”

Chief Superintendent Scott McCarren, Police Scotland’s Head of Road Policing, said:

“Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary during the bad weather or if it can be delayed until conditions improve. If you need to travel, please drive to the conditions, be prepared for delays and allow extra time for your journey. Please don’t drive through road closures, the decision to close roads is not taken lightly and is done for public safety.”