Amid several weather warnings for snow and ice, slippy pavements have greeted residents across the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Aberdeenshire.
Temperatures are expected to drop to -17C in some areas and pavement conditions have been treacherous in many areas.
Councils have been working hard to keep the most used areas gritted, but have struggled to keep up at times as snow continues to fall.
Residents across all local authorities have been urged to take care when out and about.
The Met Office has forecasted yet more bad weather for the Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Moray, with a new yellow warning warning for snow and ice to come into force later today.
Here is what you can expect in your area…
Aberdeen
Due to road surface temperatures of below 0C overnight, Aberdeen City Council gritted their primary routes as well as primary footpaths between 4.45am and 7am to make sure they had been treated before rush hour.
Those routes include:
- Union Street and nearby pavements that serve the larger communities.
- Pavements near major bus routes.
- Pavements around Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
- Pavements near fire stations.
The council have moved onto gritting secondary routes and priority 2 pavements and they will be continuously gritting all day.
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire council pavements are being treated daily from 7am where there are icy conditions.
There are 32 main priority routes across the region, which are treated in the morning and evening, while secondary routes are also being treated from 8am daily where icy conditions are reported.
Residents can request that their nearest grit bin be refilled here.
Highlands
The Highland Council maintains a fleet of 105 gritters and 42 pavement gritters and across the area there are over 1,750 grit bins.
They treat footpaths on a priority basis.
First up are those in main shopping areas, as well as pavements around schools, hospitals and other commercial areas, with those in residential areas following if weather permits.
Full gritting maps can be found here.
Moray
The most heavily used walking routes are prioritised from 9am to 5pm when needed in Moray.
These include those around the hospital and the high street.
Other paths and cycle tracks will be gritted if weather and time permit.
Moray Council said they are unable to give a clear indication as to when a particular footpath or cycle track will be treated.
They have also noted that pre-treatment of footways and cycle tracks will not be carried out.
The public can find their nearest grit bin here.
Western Isles
Salting and gritting for ice and light snow conditions on the Western Isles will be restricted to the hours between 6am and 6pm.
They aim to complete all priority 1 routes by 7.30am.
The council have gritted a number of footpaths across Stornoway.
Roads teams are working their way around the large number of salt bin refill requests that have come in across the islands.
Full gritting maps can be found here.
Shetland
Shetland Council provide grit bins for residents and road users to assist themselves.
Gritting gets underway at 6.00am with priority 1 and 2 roads being gritted on every frosty day.
They prioritise the treatment of footways serving main shopping streets, schools and hospitals, and then residential areas.
This treatment is provided seven days a week including Sundays.
Footpaths in Lerwick and Scalloway are treated by small footpath tractors fitted with ploughs and salt hoppers.
In rural areas, footpaths are currently treated by the hand spreading of salt.
A spokesperson for the council said that councillors have recently approved the purchase of two new footpath gritters that will allow more efficient treatment of rural footpaths across the Shetland Mainland and the North Isles.
Priorities for gritting, as well as maps, can be found online.
Orkney
In Orkney, council pavements and footpaths are also being gritted on a priority basis.
School and care facility car parks are included in their treatment routes.
A number of Stromness and Kirkwall footpaths are gritted in the early morning, and the target for having priority 1 routes complete is 8am.
Orkney Islands Council also provides grit bins for public use on roads and pavements in potentially dangerous areas.
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