The Wester Ross village of Ullapool has been hit by an icy blast, amidst ongoing travel chaos and school closures seen across Ross-shire.

School closures due to the snow have proved particularly inconvenient for many high school pupils, who were scheduled to sit their preliminary exams today after months of preparation.

Tain Royal Academy, Gairloch High School and Plockton High School, have all announced on their social media pages that any prelim exams scheduled to take place today, Monday, January 15, will be re-scheduled due to the school's closures.

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As well as this, avalanche risk warnings have been issued for a number of Highland mountains, with the risk level being raised to 'moderate' in the wake of continuing heavy snows. The Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) has issued moderate/yellow warnings for the Torridon, North Cairngorm and South Cairngorm ranges.

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The drifting snow, ice and wind across the Highland Council road network had resulted in treacherous conditions. Snow drifts of up to 18 inches have been reported in some areas, with more than 3500 children affected by school closures across Highland Council.

Ferry services have also seen a heavy impact by the icy blast across the Highlands, with the Ullapool to Stornoway sailings on January 15, cancelled. The cancelled sailings for January 15 are the 7am and 2pm sailings from Stornoway, and the 10.30am and 5.30pm sailings from Ullapool. CalMac has notified passengers that sailings on January 16 for the Ullapool–Stornoway route are liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice.

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