Parts of the north-east woke up to their first snowfall of the year yesterday as wintry weather swept the region
Temperatures dropped as low as -3.6C in parts as councils deployed their fleets of gritters to combat the chilly conditions.
Weather warnings were in place across the area throughout yesterday morning, with Aboyne bearing the brunt with almost two inches of snowfall.
Police were forced to issue warnings to motorists further north, with the icy roads leading to crashes and causing lorries to become stranded on roads.
Aberdeenshire Winter Ops Room 28-01-20 18:40.
All 32 Gritters back out tonight 18:00, to top up treatments,RSTs below zero tonight further updates later.@Aberdeenshire pic.twitter.com/9VWHiToXHh
— Aberdeenshire Roads (@AbshireRoads) January 28, 2020
The Met Office has said temperatures are likely to begin thawing out – but added that spring may not arrive for some time yet.
Meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “It will turn less cold and throughout today.
“Tomorrow, we could see temperatures get back to double figures but there will be a lot of cold and outbreaks of rain.
“There is quite a change coming towards the end of the week, with temperatures getting back to above average.
“We still have over a month left of winter. There is still plenty of time for us to see cold and snowy weather returning.
“This mild stage we are entering could last around a week before colder, drier and frosty weather will return in the middle of next week.
“That theme could last us a while – there’s certainly scope for more wintry weather to come.”