Government officials will hold an emergency meeting tonight amid concerns over the risks posed by Storm Eunice.
Much of Scotland is expected to be battered by blizzard conditions overnight, with up to eight inches of snow expected during a 15 hour spell.
The Met Office has issued a yellow snow warning for large areas of the country, which will come into effect from 3am on Friday until 6pm that evening.
It comes just a day after Scotland was battered by gale force winds brought on by Storm Dudley.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney will hold a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) later tonight to discuss its response to the adverse weather forecast.
Mr Swinney expects Storm Eunice to have an impact on transport and other essential services.
In a statement, the SNP minister said: “With two storms back to back, we expect severe weather to continue into the weekend across large parts of the country.
“We would strongly urge everyone to continue to pay close attention to the latest travel advice and to exercise caution on the roads.
“Storm Eunice may bring heavy snow and strong winds to much of Scotland from the early hours of Friday, posing further risks to transport and other essential services.
“The Scottish Government’s resilience committee will continue to monitor the situation. We remain in close contact with local authorities and emergency and essential services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information, advice and support where needed.”
Much of Scotland was impacted by Storm Dudley throughout Wednesday and into the early hours of this morning.
ScotRail was forced to cancel all of its services early yesterday amid concerns for passenger and staff safety.
When the worst of the storm descended on Scotland, trees were blown onto tracks and essential infrastructure was left badly damaged in some parts.
Most ScotRail services were able to restart from around 11.30am this morning.
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