Roads and schools hit by heavy snow

Jan 22 2013

A second day of heavy snow has caused a series of road accidents and closed about 150 schools across Scotland.

Driving snow and blizzards overnight caused problems for morning commuters in southern and central parts of the country and the weather pushed north throughout the day.

The Borders is expected to be covered by a minimum of 10cm (5.9in), with 10-15cms (3.9-5.9in) forecast for the Highlands and 5-10cm (1.9-3.9in) in Aberdeenshire, forecasters said.

Major roads were forced to close in Perthshire, Angus, Fife, Aberdeenshire and the Borders due to the conditions and a spate of accidents.

The A9 near to Kindallachan at Ballinluig, five miles south of Pitlochry in Perthshire, was closed in both directions earlier after a serious road accident. There were long tail-backs as surrounding roads were also blocked by the weather.

Dangerous driving conditions were responsible for a road accident on the A94 Scone Road in Perth on Tuesday morning, according to Tayside Police.

A lorry jack-knifed and a car hit a traffic sign whilst trying to avoid the lorry. The people involved suffered minor injuries.

More than 150 schools, around 5% of the total school estate, were closed or partially closed by the bad weather, with the majority in Aberdeenshire and others in Angus, Moray, the Borders, Fife, Perth and the Highlands.

Most are expected to reopen on Wednesday but councils said information will be posted on websites and passed to local media in the early morning if the situation changes.

Sean Penston, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "Rain, sleet and snow is moving north-west across the country to affect most eastern parts while the west will be more sheltered by the Highlands."