Snow gates in Aberdeenshire remained closed this morning following a weekend of wintry weather.
The gates at Cairn O’Mount on the B974, at the Bridge of Dye, were kept closed due to the adverse weather.
Overnight, police closed the snow gates on the A93 Aberdeen to Braemar road at Braemar and the Spittal, heading towards the Glenshee Ski Centre.
They had all been re-opened by noon on Monday.
The snow gates at Cock Bridge on the A939 Ballater to Tomintoul road stayed open but the conditions were described as “difficult”.
No ski centres have announced closures today.
Snow Gates❗️
The snow gates at Braemar & Spittal on the #A93 remain ⛔️CLOSED⛔️ this morning.
The snow gates for Cairn O’Mount on the #B974 also remain ⛔️CLOSED⛔️.
The #A939 snow gates at Cock Bridge are ✅OPEN✅ although conditions are difficult.#ABZTravel pic.twitter.com/Vyp7shUQud
— Aberdeen Travel (@AberdeenTravel) February 21, 2022
Storm Franklin arrives
Overnight the seventh named storm of the year hit the UK with strong winds expected to continue until early afternoon.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for wind across, Northern Ireland, the south-west of Scotland and the majority of England.
Sepa issued flood alerts in the Western Isles, Argyll and Bute and Orkney on Sunday night into Monday.
They said windy weather combined with high tides could lead to “some coastal flooding and disruption”.
Residents in those areas were told to remain vigilant and to take action to protect themselves and their property.
Travel disruption
Although not all warnings go as far north as the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire, travel disruptions have still been reported.
The majority of CalMac services today have been impacted by the adverse weather.
Morning services from Tobermory, Ardrossan and Rothesay are among the journeys cancelled.
CalMac confirmed sailings could not go ahead because of winds of up to 51mph.
Those scheduled to depart later in the day will be reviewed, but passengers are warned to expected delays and cancellations.
🔶AMBER #WemyssBay #Rothesay 21Feb Due to strong winds gusting up to 51mph, the following sailings have been cancelled:
Depart Rothesay – 08:05, 09:05
Depart Wemyss Bay – 08:05, 09:05, 10:05— CalMac Service Info (@CalMac_Updates) February 21, 2022
Northlink Ferries has said its MV Hamnavoe sailings from Stromness to Scrabster are delayed.
The 6.30am journey will now leave at 11am, while the 8.45am sailing in the opposite direction will depart at 1pm.
Scotrail is expecting to run a normal service across most of its network today.
Some services on the West Highland Line between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig may be delayed due to a speed restriction.
Trains will have to operate at a reduced speed because of heavy rain with disruptions expected to last until around 11.30am.