Yellow Met Office weather warning for snow and rain issued for the Highlands
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Motorists travelling for the Hogmanay weekend have been urged to take extra care after the Met Office issued a yellow warning for snow and rain in the Highlands.
The warning, which runs from 8am to 11.59pm on Saturday, is predicting snowfall accumulations of up to 10cm in places, and rain totals of up to 25mm.
It comes just hours after Met Office forecasters published videos predicting a risk of "significant" snow on high ground in some areas hit by Storm Gerrit earlier this week.
Commenting on its new yellow warning, a Met Office spokesman said: "An active frontal system will extend north-eastwards through Saturday bringing heavy rain to low levels and a period of snow across higher ground to some parts of Scotland.
"Snow accumulations are expected largely above 250-300 metres, where 5 to 10 cm may accumulate. At lower levels mostly rain is expected with 15-25 mm, although some snow accumulations may occur for a time over northwestern areas, with perhaps 1 to 3 cm in places.
"Snow turning to rain in the south early afternoon and melting snow over high ground along with some heavy rain and saturated ground may lead to some flooding of roads and railways. Rain and snow clearing from the south through the afternoon and evening."
The area covered by the yellow warning extends across most of Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire and southwards through Inverness-shire, the Cairngorms and across a swathe of the mainland as far south as Bute in the Firth of Clyde. It also extends west over most of Raasay and Skye.
Separate rain and snow warnings are also in place for parts of Lewis and Harris, and the Southern Uplands and Borders areas, although snowfall accumulations in those alert zones are forecast to be lower than in the Highlands.
