Freezing weather pushing north

Jan 16 2013

Winter weather conditions will push north to Scotland before a new front brings a deluge of snow to the UK on Friday, according to forecasters.

Temperatures are set to hit as low as minus 6 degrees Celsius in Scotland tonight and southern parts of the country can expect 3-5cms of snowfall on Thursday as the weather from the south drifts north but worse is yet to come.

There will be widespread frost across the country with temperatures are expected to hit between minus 6 and minus 10 degrees Celsius on Thursday night with the mercury not predicted to rise above freezing throughout the day on Friday. While these temperatures are not unusual for this time of year they are below the average of zero degrees Celsius.

A deluge of snow is due to hit the UK on Friday with 15cm forecast to fall as a new weather system moves in from the Atlantic, according to Chris Burton, a forecaster at MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association.

He said: "The greatest risk of heavy snow is on Friday. The weather from the south will clear away but there is a new front moving in from the Atlantic on Friday and as that meets the colder air there is the potential for heavy, widespread snowfall across the UK.

"It will mainly be rain in the west but mainly everywhere else it will be snowing for a time. Across Scotland we could see in excess of 15cms in places on Friday."

Gritters continue to work hard across the Grampian region where ice and snow conditions were some of the worst in the UK earlier in the week.

Aberdeen City Council staff have been out twice a day as well as working through the night gritting the roads in preparation for more harsh weather.

The local authority has warned motorists to take extra care, allow extra time for journeys and be equipped for the conditions. A spokesman said: "All surfaces should be treated with caution and as if they had not been treated. It is highly likely that there will be icy patches, even on gritted surfaces."

Gritting has been carried out across Aberdeen with priority given to the most travelled roads and footpaths.