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Snow and icy conditions continue to affect large parts of Scotland, particularly the north east, where hundreds of schools remain closed for a third consecutive day due to severe winter weather. Yellow snow and ice warnings are still in place throughout Wednesday across northern Scotland, with ice advisories covering nearly the entire region. Aberdeenshire Council declared a “major incident” on Tuesday amid substantial disruption caused by persistent snowfall and difficult conditions.
In Aberdeenshire, Moray, and Aberdeen, schools will remain closed on Wednesday, including approximately 65 schools in the Highlands, where term is just beginning. However, some areas such as the Western Isles, Shetland, and parts of Orkney will see schools reopening due to improving weather conditions. On Tuesday, around 350 schools across Scotland were affected by closures related to the ongoing snow.
The Scottish Government has been closely monitoring the situation through its Resilience Room, which convened another meeting with emergency services, local councils, utility providers, and other agencies. Justice Secretary Angela Constance, who chaired the session, emphasized the challenges expected to persist throughout the week. She stressed the importance of public caution, particularly with overnight ice anticipated widely. Constance noted that “good progress” had been made in restoring transport infrastructure and confirmed that all trunk roads were operational.
Weather forecasts suggest a slight improvement on Wednesday with milder temperatures and some wintry showers in northern regions, which may fall as rain or sleet near coastal areas. Southern parts of Scotland are expected to experience dry weather with occasional sunshine despite cooler air. The snow and ice warnings will remain in force until midnight in the north and north east but will end earlier elsewhere. Forecasters warned that untreated roads may still be icy, possibly leading to minor disruptions during the morning commute. Meanwhile, snow warnings have been issued for southern England later in the week as Storm Goretti approaches, although Scotland is expected to largely avoid its worst effects.
For many communities in northern Scotland, fresh snowfall has been a daily occurrence since the start of the new year. The major incident declaration by Aberdeenshire Council allows for increased deployment of staff and resources to manage road and footpath clearance more effectively. Council Chief Executive Jim Savege explained, “The declaration of the incident is mainly an internal mechanism for the council that allows me to divert more staff and resources towards priority activity than we’ve been doing already.” Additional equipment and personnel have been brought in through mutual aid agreements with other local authorities to bolster the response.
In Aberdeen City, Co-leader Ian Yuill described the ongoing snowfall as the most intense and prolonged in over five decades. The council has 15 snowploughs and 14 pavement ploughs actively working, supplemented by 24 hired diggers. Yuill noted, “The big challenge this time is it has continued to snow – so every time it snows both the pavement ploughs and the road ploughs have to go back out again to re-treat and re-plough the priority roads and pavements in the city.”
Travel disruptions persist as well. Snow gates have been closed overnight on several routes including the A93 Braemar to Glenshee, the B974 at Cairn O’Mount, and the A939 at Cock Bridge, with Police Scotland advising motorists to avoid these stretches. Network Rail reported clearing the Aberdeen to Inverness railway line by Tuesday evening despite extremely challenging conditions near Insch. Work continues with heavy machinery to clear the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line, where snow drifts reach up to 1.2 meters in depth.
Train operator LNER has cautioned passengers against traveling between Edinburgh and Aberdeen, warning that services might not resume until Friday at the earliest. The AA confirmed attending nearly 13,000 breakdowns across the UK by Tuesday afternoon, while the RAC urged drivers in heavily affected areas to carefully assess whether it is safe to drive. Police Scotland anticipates ongoing impacts from the snow over the coming days and stressed the importance of checking on vulnerable individuals. Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell remarked, “Local resilience partnerships are continuing to meet to co-ordinate and deliver the response to disruption experienced by communities in the north and north-east of Scotland following heavy snowfall over the weekend.” He urged the public, “if they are able to do so safely,” to look after neighbors and relatives who might need assistance
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