THE MET Office has issued a severe weather warning for Tayside and Fife, with snow showers and icy conditions forecast for this weekend.
A yellow warning for snow is in place for Fife, Dundee and Angus today and tomorrow as the result of a strong blast of cold air, dubbed the ‘beast from the east’, blowing across the North Sea from Scandinavia.
Met forecaster Charles Powell said: “We are looking at between five and 10cm of snow falling across most, if not all, parts of Fife, Dundee and Angus and Aberdeen and parts of Aberdeenshire.
“The first showers will hit the east coast from 4am on Saturday morning, when the rain hits the cold air, and these showers will be relatively light but will become heavier and more frequent as the day goes on with most areas seeing snow from Saturday afternoon right through until Sunday afternoon.
“The start of next week, we will have a bit of respite. However more snow has been predicted to fall for the latter part of Sunday and, although there is no yellow warning in place at the moment, we expect we may have to issue one by the end of the weekend.
“Slight snowfall is expected on Monday and on Tuesday temperatures will drop quite a bit with one or two snow showers and, although the middle part of next week is expected to be drier, it will be very cold.”
Mr Powell said reports of temperatures dropping to -20 were “very extreme”.
“Yes, we are expecting it to be cold and icy but the average temperature in Fife, Dundee and Angus is more likely to be around 0 degrees to 3 degrees, although that could drop to -7 and -8 in western parts of Angus, on higher ground and in other Scottish glens, but it will certainly not drop to anything near -20.
“It’s not clear how long this cold snap will last, although there is a possibility of a more prolonged spell of snow for a time.
“We will continue to update our website with weather warnings and safety advice over the coming days.”
Mr Powell urged drivers to only travel if they really have to and to be aware of the potential for localised disruption to travel.
Traffic Scotland issued a similar warning and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents urged motorists to adapt the way they drive to suit the freezing conditions.
Kevin Clinton, head of road safety at RoSPA, said: “The most important thing to remember about driving safely in wintry weather is to be prepared.
“Make sure your vehicle is in good working condition and add enough time for a journey so you are less likely to rush to make up for any delays.”