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Badenoch & Strathspey could be hit by up to another 50cm of snow after Met Office issued an amber warning for the area; a wider 66-hour long yellow alert for snow also covers most other parts of Highlands


By Philip Murray

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An amber warning comes into force at 12.01am on Friday and will stay in place until midday on Saturday. Picture: Met Office.
An amber warning comes into force at 12.01am on Friday and will stay in place until midday on Saturday. Picture: Met Office.

AN AMBER snow warning has been issued for swathes of the Highlands, after the Met Office upgraded existing alerts.

The new amber alert, which runs alongside a number of other yellow warnings for snow in the Highlands, is predicting up to 50cm of snow on higher ground by Saturday evening – with even low levels experiencing up to 15cm in places.

The new amber warning will be in place for 42 hours – starting just after midnight on Friday morning, and remaining in place until 6pm on Saturday.

The Met Office is warning that the snow “will become persistent and heavy” and could cause “significant disruption” to transport and power supplies.

The area covered by the alert extends from southern Caithness, and down through central and eastern Sutherland and into Ross-shire, the Black Isle, Inverness and Loch Ness. Nairnshire, Badenoch & Strathspey, Moray, and much of Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire are also covered by the warning.

A Met Office spokesman said: “By Friday, snow is expected to become more widespread, persistent and heavy, and will settle at increasingly low levels. The heaviest snowfall should clear later on Saturday.

“Fresh snowfall totals of 10-15cm is possible at low-levels, with 20-30cm accumulating above about 150m. Some high ground exposed to strong easterly winds could see as much as 50cm building up by Saturday evening.

“However some places close to the east coast may see only small amounts of snow settling.

“The strong easterly winds will likely lead to drifting snow, temporary blizzard conditions, and ice forming on exposed power lines and phone masts.”

A wider yellow warning for snow across an even larger swathe of the Highlands comes into force at 6pm on Thursday, and will remain in place for the following 66 hours. Picture: Met Office.
A wider yellow warning for snow across an even larger swathe of the Highlands comes into force at 6pm on Thursday, and will remain in place for the following 66 hours. Picture: Met Office.

But Highlanders won’t have to wait to Friday to experience potential snow disruption. A widespread warning for snow – affecting even more parts of the Highlands – has been brought forward to 6pm on Thursday, and will now remain in force for 66 hours until lunchtime on Sunday.

Another yellow warning, which is already in force for Badenoch & Strathspey, and Moray, will also run until 6pm on Thursday.

For the latest updates on the Met Office alerts, visit its weather warnings webpage.

Related news: Badenoch and Strathspey roads condition report


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