Snow alert upgraded to Amber as more weather warnings hit Scotland

A weather warning for snow and ice has been upgraded to amber on Sunday, with more severe wintry conditions due to hit parts of Scotland.

A series of Met Office yellow warnings for snow, wind and rain cover much of the rest of the country, with bitterly cold temperatures set to continue for a second weekend.

The amber warning area, which comes into effect from 03:00, extends from the North East into Tayside and Central Scotland until 14:00 on Sunday.

The Scottish government, police, local authorities and other groups met on Saturday to plan the response to the upgraded weather alert.

A further 2-5cm of snow is expected at low levels and up to 30cm on higher ground.

Transport Scotland said there would be "challenging conditions" and route closures. It warned of power cuts and a potential risk to life and property.

Amber warning: Snow

• When? Sunday 03:00 until 14:00
• Where? Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands

Yellow warning: Snow and Ice

• When? Sunday 02:00 until 15:00
• Where? Central Scotland, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Orkney, Lothian Borders and Southern Scotland

Yellow warning: Wind

• When? Sunday 00:00 until 21:00
• Where? Central Scotland, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland, South West, Scotland Lothian and Borders

Yellow warning: Rain

• When? Sunday 02:00 until 21:00
• Where? Tayside & Fife, Highlands, Western Isles, Argyll and West Dunbartonshire

The Met Office said that "heavy and persistent snowfall" could lead to further disruption on Sunday, with a "good chance that some rural communities could become cut off."

A spokesperson added: "Ice will be a more widespread hazard, especially overnight as temperatures fall widely below freezing."

Justice Secretary Angela Constance, who chaired the Scottish government's resilience meeting, said the country was "facing a complicated multi-hazard event".

She said: "Partners remain stood up and are working tirelessly across the weekend to continue supporting communities and to respond as the conditions.

"The sustained nature of this weather event, and the different elements of it, are clearly very challenging for communities and responders alike, given the difficulties already caused by the weather."

Scotland has faced over a week of disruption across the north of the country.

More than 250 schools remained closed on Friday, including more than 150 in Aberdeenshire, dozens in the Highlands and Aberdeen, and a number in Moray.

Many pupils will have had a whole week off school at the start of the new term.

Police Scotland assistant chief constable Alan Waddell encouraged people to check on neighbours and relatives "if they are able to do so safely".

He added: "We have been working closely with resilience partners across local authorities to support communities affected by adverse weather."

On Friday, Snow closed the Inverness-Wick railway line and a number of local roads remained closed.

However, the main travel routes in the north and north-east have been cleared.

Aberdeenshire Council said there was still disruption on the roads and they were focusing on clearing areas "still affected by deep snow".

A spokesperson said: "This will involve digging out and removing snow from the area because the volume that has fallen is generally greater than the space available on the streets to hold it.

The council urged people not to travel unnecessarily and asked people to upload photographs of roads across the area to the council's portal to assist with its understanding of conditions.