More than six inches of snow fell on parts of the Highlands yesterday, closing several schools – but the cold snap is a temporary one, with temperatures set to reach double figures again by tomorrow.
More than a thousand north pupils had a day off school yesterday due to snow and freezing temperatures.
Badenoch and Strathspey bore the brunt of the wintry weather, although some schools in higher parts of Inverness-shire were also affected by snowfall.
The Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for Sunday night and yesterday morning, warning of a “prolonged spell of snow”.
The heaviest snowfall was seen in Aviemore where more than six inches fell overnight.
Nearly three inches fell at Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, while nearly two inches fell across Inverness-shire.
Aviemore Primary was closed due to a lack of heating, power and water.
Carrbridge Primary and Nursery, Daviot Primary, Kingussie High School and Stratherrick Primary were all closed due to the bad weather, while Grantown Primary and Nursery both opened late due to the conditions.
Major transport routes escaped the worst of the conditions, with a police spokeswoman saying there had been “no incidents of note” on the roads.
However, the winter wonderland conditions are not set to stay – with the Met Office forecasting “unusually mild” air by tomorrow.
A spokeswoman for the agency said that colder air would remain overnight into this morning, which temperatures across the Highlands and Moray largely around freezing.
She said: “Tuesday is going to be quite an overcast, murky day. There may be some rainfall through the day and a heavier band of rain is due to move up through Scotland later on in the day.
“Temperatures will be higher than they have been and should break into double figures on Wednesday, with perhaps as high as 11 or 12 degrees in Aberdeen.
“There will be another wet spell to follow. It’s going to be a very changeable spell of weather.”