Scotland woke up to snow today as the Met Office has warned tonight may be the coldest of the year.
With yellow weather warnings in place until Friday, March 10, there is a chance temperatures may plummet to -15C on Tuesday night in some Scottish glens, especially where there is fresh snowfall.
New weather maps by the Met Office show a bout of bone-chilling Arctic air travelling southwards across Scotland, bringing cold temperatures and snowfall on Tuesday.
Weather warnings for snow and ice are in place across all four nations of the UK and more are expected to be issued as Arctic air sweeps across the country. Snow drifts could occur on Friday, the Met Office said.
The lowest temperature recorded in the UK so far this year is minus 10.4C, which was recorded at Drumnadrochit near Inverness in the Highlands in the early hours of January 19. Temperatures are set to drop almost six degrees below their coldest last March, when they reached minus 9.1C in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire.
The Met Office warned travel disruption is likely and journey times by car, train and bus may take longer than usual. Scots in certain areas woke up to heavy snow on Tuesday morning and are facing "significant disruptions" due to closed roads.
People are at risk of slipping and falling on icy patches of untreated roads, pavements and paths while some rural communities could become cut off from the power grid.
Meteorologist Alex Deacon said: "There's low pressure heading down through the north sea and that has allowed the doors to open to Arctic air. We also have this weather front trickling southwards and that is going to produce a mixture of rain, sleet and snow across parts of the south on Tuesday morning and potentially, things could be pretty icy as well."
Snow began falling in Northern Scotland on Monday afternoon. A yellow weather alert in place until Wednesday at 10am is set to impact north and eastern regions most, with up to 5cm of snowfall expected on lower ground, while higher areas will see up to 10cm.
However, a second warning in place from 3am on Thursday to 6pm on Friday could see more than 20cm of snowfall in parts of the country. Scotland is expected to see the heaviest fall on Friday as elevated areas could get a hefty 40cm.
Dale Hipkiss, National Network Manager at National Highways, said people should keep warm clothes and a torch in their car in case they get stuck in icy conditions.
He said: “Freezing conditions bring so many hazards such as snow and ice. Take every possible step to understand your journey in advance and allow lots of extra time when travelling to prepare for the unexpected."
On March 14 1958 the mercury dropped to a record low for the month of minus 22.8C at Logie Coldstone, Aberdeenshire.
The area of low pressure is to clear up by Wednesday, but will be replaced with a similar front moving from the west. By Thursday, it will travel over Scotland, bringing moisture to colder air, resulting in "heavy snowfall", lasting until Friday.
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