Travel woes as seasonal snow falls

More snow is being forecast overnight

Airports and roads in the north of Scotland have been disrupted by snow and forecasters have warned of more to come.

Aberdeen Airport had a number of flights diverted to Edinburgh on Thursday as a result of snow on the runway and poor visibility.

An airport spokesman said about four flights were diverted to Edinburgh.

He said: "We have had a snow clearing team out since 4 o'clock this morning.

The north of Scotland has been badly affected

"The first couple of arrivals have been diverted to Edinburgh.

"We have got intermittent snow showers which are affecting operations."

The spokesman said pilots had become concerned at the lack of visibility at the airport and opted to land at Edinburgh.

Snowy conditions also brought the closure of Inverness Airport, although it was reopened by mid-morning.

The Meteorological Office has issued a severe weather warning, highlighting the risk of more snow and high winds in the north of the country.

The Met Office's Gail Pirie said: "Conditions are expected to worsen considerably overnight in the north of Scotland - with heavy snow and high winds.

"The worst affected area will probably be north of a rough line from Argyll to Aberdeen.

"Some gusts of wind could be up to 70mph and we are looking at an average of around 45mph.

Gail Pirie has warned of blizzard conditions

"The real problem is that the snow and the high winds are going to give us blizzard conditions and also drifting snow."

Ms Pirie added that in the Scottish central belt conditions would be "unpleasant", but that there was unlikely to be disruption on the scale of that in the north.

"It will be wet and windy and we could see some sleet showers - particularly on higher ground," she said.

In the north east of Scotland, Grampian Police reported the B974 Banchory to Fettercairn road and B976 Crathie to Gairnshiel roads were closed with motorists advised to take care on all routes in the region.

In the Highlands, police reported the B9007 Carrbridge to Ferness road was closed due to snow, but all other routes remained open.