The Highlands could see snow this week as freezing Arctic air starts to sweep across Scotland.
The Met Office forecasts that snow could hit the Cairngorms today, tomorrow and at the weekend.
The national park will see temperatures between -1C and -4C on Tuesday, with the temperature dropping to –5C on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The weather agency has advised that the area could see snow during the whole day today.
‘Cold plunge’ ahead
Meanwhile, weatherman and meteorologist Sean Batty has predicted that the country’s “first proper cold and wintry spell of weather this season” is on its way, particularly in the north.
He said: “After an unsettled week this week with further spells of wind and rain, the models are hinting at low pressure clearing east followed on by a high pressure system extending into the Arctic.
“This would allow a cold northerly air flow to develop across the UK which could bring a spell of snow to the north of the country followed by a more settled spell with clear skies which is the sort of scenario which can lead to very cold nights.
He added: “Meteorology is not an exact science, and while there’s growing confidence in models for a cold plunge later next week, sometimes models can lead us merrily down a garden path for the whole idea to then be binned because of an unforeseen storm in the Atlantic which scuppers the whole thing.”
Snow follows unsettled weather
The snow follows a period of extremely unsettled weather for the north and north-east of Scotland, with Storm Babet bringing flooding and damage and Storm Debi resulting in 11 hours of rain in one day earlier this week.