Schools stay closed in Scotland as snow and ice warnings remain in place across UK | UK weather

Hundreds of schools in northern Scotland will remain closed for a second day as weather warnings of snow and ice continue across the country.

The Met Office has issued an amber warning for snow for large parts of north-east and northern Scotland from 11am until 7pm on Tuesday, with forecasters warning of five to 10cm of snow widely, and up to 15cm in places.

A yellow warning of snow and ice is in place from Perth northwards until midnight on Tuesday.

The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning of snow and ice from Scotland’s central belt south down beyond the border with England, until 11am on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, disruptive snow, wind and rain could hit parts of southern England this week, as an Atlantic low-pressure front meets an Arctic airmass over the country.

The Met Office said that parts of southern England may see some snow on higher ground on Thursday and Friday, while northern and central areas of England could face more snow, with rain and strong winds, depending on the path of an approaching Atlantic low-pressure system.

Schools in Shetland, Orkney and Aberdeenshire will remain shut on Tuesday after pupils enjoyed an extra day of holiday on Monday after the festive break due to the weather.

Snowy conditions disrupted road, air and rail travel on Monday with some train lines shut after heavy snow drifted on to the tracks.

National Rail said train services in northern Scotland would be disrupted until the end of the day on Tuesday, although ScotRail said services on the route between Aberdeen and Dundee would run in the morning.

The areas covered by the Met Office amber warning include parts of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, Angus and Perth and Kinross.

It states: “A spell of heavy snow is expected to move east across central and northern Scotland during Tuesday, clearing to wintry showers during Tuesday night. A further 5-10cm is expected widely with 15cm in places, particularly above 200 metres.”

On Monday, Loganair cancelled flights from Aberdeen and Inverness airports, and a number of flights to and from Sumburgh airport in Shetland were cancelled, as were several departures from Kirkwall in Orkney.

In the yellow alert area, forecasters predict that 2-5cm of snow is likely to fall fairly widely, with the possibility of a further 10-15cm in some areas.

From the central belt south, forecasters predict an area of “mainly light snow” with most places likely to have no more than 1-2cm.