Aberdeenshire Council declares 'major incident' after days of heavy snow

Aberdeenshire Council has declared a "major incident" as snow continues to grip the north east of Scotland.

Hundreds of schools remained closed across Scotland on Tuesday, including all in Aberdeenshire, Orkney and Shetland.

Aberdeenshire Council said it was looking at a "prolonged period of significant impact", including people being cut off. Declaring the major incident allows it to escalate activity to respond to the weather by redeploying staff.

A Met Office amber alert in parts of the north expired at 19:00, but a yellow Met Office warning of icy conditions for most of Scotland for Wednesday has also been issued.

Almost all schools in Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen and Moray will be closed on Wednesday, due to the forecast conditions.

North East Scotland College campuses in Aberdeen and Fraserburgh will also be closed to students for the remainder of the week, with the hope being to re-open on Monday.

More than 300 schools across Scotland were impacted on Tuesday.

Jim Savege, the chief executive of Aberdeenshire Council, said the major incident decision followed fresh amber and yellow weather warnings.

"We are going to have more snow, more bad weather, for a longer period of time, that means it's going to take us a longer time to be able to clear the roads to the extent we wish to and need to," he told BBC Scotland News.

"It means our communities having a more challenging time in terms of their day-to-day lives, more than had been anticipated.

"The declaration of the (major) incident mainly is an internal mechanism for the council that allows me to divert more staff and resources towards priority activities than we've been doing already."

He said staff were "working socks off".

Savege said the focus was on connectivity, keeping the primary road network clear for emergency services and supply chain so they can keep moving.

Dozens of extra contractors such as farmers have been helping, and new kit such as snow blowers and tractor ploughs is being used.

Asked how long the snow might continue, he said: "I'd like to know the answer to that one as well."

Residents are being urged to check on neighbours - especially those who are elderly, vulnerable or living alone.

Disruption on roads and the railway network is expected to continue as transport operators work to clear routes in severe wintry conditions.

Transport Scotland said that within Tuesday's amber warning area a further 2-4in (5-10cm) of snow was expected, with 6in (15cm) on higher ground above 656ft (200m).

Yellow warnings for snow and ice will continue in the north throughout Wednesday, with ice alerts extending to almost all of Scotland.

The freezing weather has meant the snow continues to lie on the ground with the lowest temperature overnight -11.2C recorded at Dalwhinnie.

Sporting fixtures across Scotland have also been affected by the cold temperatures.

Tuesday's Scottish Premiership match between Livingston and St Mirren has been postponed because of a frozen pitch following a morning inspection.

Six Scottish Challenge Cup games have also been postponed. They are:

• Arbroath v East Fife
• Ayr United v Stranraer
• Partick Thistle v Inverness Caledonian Thistle
• Queen's Park v Forfar Athletic
• Stirling Albion v Stenhousemuir
• St Johnstone v Ross County

The initial five were also due to frozen pitches, but the St Johnstone v Ross County game was later called off after the A9 was blocked following a crash.

The games have been rescheduled for Tuesday 13 January.

Scotland's ski centres will benefit, however, with The Lecht and Glenshee in the Cairngroms hoping to open their slopes by the weekend.

The Scottish Government's Resilience Room (SGORR) met on Monday to discuss recovery efforts and preparations for the days ahead.

First Minister John Swinney said there had been a "huge effort to keep transport moving and public services open".

Swinney said: "Impacts will continue to be felt in the coming days and I would encourage everyone to plan ahead, look out for each other and pay close attention to the weather and travel advice available."

The Scottish Conservatives have called for the military to be mobilised to help clear snow and deliver supplies to homes cut off by the snow.

Shadow Scottish Secretary Andrew Bowie said there was a real risk that people in the north and north east could be left without basic necessities unless urgent action is taken.

But the Scottish government said Scotland was "well prepared" to deal with severe weather.

"Agencies are reporting that there is an effective response under way to the challenging conditions and there are no requests for additional support from either the Scottish government or the Ministry of Defence at this point," a statement said.

"The Scottish government continues to engage closely with responder agencies to monitor the potential for any requests."

On the roads, the A9 south of Berridale had to be closed for some of the morning for the recovery of a Royal Mail lorry that crashed on Monday.

The major road was shut again in the afternoon at Granish just north of Aviemore.

It reopened later to southbound traffic with a diversion in place for those travelling north.

In the north east, maintenance operator Amey continues to clear routes.

It said that all 27 trunk routes in the south west of the country would also receive double salt treatments at 13:00 and 01:00 throughout the week.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Alan Waddell said: "Heavy snow and ice means driving conditions are likely to continue to be hazardous in some areas.

"Our advice is to plan ahead and consider if your journey is really necessary."

Aberdeenshire Council says many routes were only passable with extreme care.

Buses in the north east are facing delays with many services cancelled.

Anyone travelling is urged to check their full journey in advance.

On the railway, Network Rail has been working to clear heavy snowdrifts blocking lines across northern Scotland.

Multiple snowploughs have been deployed across affected lines with specialist teams working to remove snow and ice.

Rail services are now running between Inverness and Elgin, as well as from Aberdeen to Dundee.

The Aberdeen - Inverness line has also now been cleared despite "appalling conditions" around Insch.

However, deep snowdrifts continue to block the Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh line.

Network Rail warned that drifting could close lines again and advised passengers to check their journeys.

Network Rail Scotland's route programme director Gary Hopkirk said teams were dealing with "exceptionally deep snow and severe weather conditions".

He added: "Deep snow can pose a serious risk to the railway, and when snow depth exceeds 30cm, trains can't run safely unless fitted with snow ploughs.

"Our teams are working as hard as they can, however, in some parts the snowdrifts are forming as quickly as we're clearing them."

Mark Ilderton of ScotRail said the majority of its routes remained open despite "challenging" weather conditions in the north of the country.

He added: "Conditions can change quickly, so we'd encourage customers to plan ahead and check their journey before travelling."

Further south a power failure caused by ice led to services on the Glasgow Subway being suspended on both the inner and outer circles.

Aberdeen International Airport reopened on Monday night but several flights have been cancelled and people are urged to check their airline for updates.

Many flights at Sumburgh Airport in Shetland have been delayed, while Kirkwall Airport flights are expected to be on time.

In Dumfries and Galloway, the Douglas Ewart High School in Newton Stewart was shut as a result of a heating failure, affecting hundreds of pupils. The site is expected to reopen on Wednesday.

Two primaries in East Ayrshire were also shut due to a heating breakdown, while in Renfrewshire pupils at Gryffe High faced a chilly day in class due to a similar fault, with heaters brought in to try to raise temperatures.

Aberdeen FC confirmed Pittodrie Stadium would remain closed to visitors on Tuesday.

The team has an away tie, travelling to Ibrox to play Rangers, with kick-off at 20:00.

Forecasters have said a further 2-5cm of snow is likely to fall fairly widely on Tuesday, with the possibility of a further 10-15cm in some areas.

From the central belt southwards forecasters predict an area of "mainly light snow" with most places likely to see no more than 1-2cm.