Blair Atholl

Drivers across Scotland are facing hazardous conditions as much of the country was blanketed by snow overnight.

The Met Office has a yellow weather warning for snow and lightning in place until 20:00 on Thursday, affecting north western and central areas.

Some schools in Moray and Stirling have been closed due to heavy snow overnight.

Police Scotland has urged people to take extra caution on The Roads .

Forecasters said frequent heavy snow showers were expected, along with very gusty winds and a chance of frequent lightning affecting some places.

About 3-7cm of snow is likely to Build Up , even at low levels, while 10-20cm could Build Up on Higher Ground by Thursday morning.

The Warning covers Central Scotland, Tayside and Fife, the Highlands and Western Isles, South West Scotland, Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde and Northern Ireland .

A total of 29 high schools, primaries and nurseries in the Highlands and 10 schools in Perth and Kinross have been closed.

Moray Council said Tomintoul school and nursery and Knockando primary school would be closed and Angus Council confirmed closures of Auchterhouse and Birkhill primary schools.

Pupils at Balfron High and Dunblane High schools in Stirling were told to learn remotely while Crianlarich Primary was also closed.

Several schools in South Lanarkshire delayed opening until 10:00.

Meanwhile, A House in Ardroil, Uig on The Isle of Lewis, was struck by lightning and caught fire during the adverse weather.

Firefighters tackled The Blaze at about 01:50 on Wednesday - no-one was injured.

The Met Office said There was a small chance that snow showers could be accompanied by frequent lightning, which could impact power supplies.

This could affect some places outside of the yellow warning area.

On The Roads , Traffic Scotland said snowy conditions were affecting much of the central belt, the A9 around Slochd and the A90 around Dundee, and urged people to drive according to the conditions.

Bear Scotland, which maintains trunk roads in the north east, reported heavy snow on the A9, M90, A92, A90, A95 and A96.

It said gritters had been out continuously overnight through challenging conditions, with 24 gritters and 10 tractors still out across The Network .

Traffic was slow in both directions on the M77 at about 07:45 however Traffic Scotland said gritters had been sent to the area.

Police Scotland tweeted: " Warnings are in place for much of The Day . Please Be Prepared and drive according to the conditions if you are travelling. "

A number of rail and ferry services have also been impacted by heavy snow.

ScotRail said speed restrictions were in place until 08:00 between Falls of Cruachan and Taynuilt, between Ardgay and Lairg and between Pitlochry and Blair Atholl .

Ferry operator CalMac said some services were liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice.

Public Transport was significantly hit last week during storms Dudley and Eunice with blanket cancellations across the rail network.

At The Time , More Than 150 schools and nurseries across Scotland were closed due to snow, including almost 100 in Aberdeenshire .

as Storm Eunice was expected to be one of the worst storms in decades.

Three people were killed in London, Hampshire and Merseyside as fierce winds toppled trees and sent debris flying. Five others were killed in Europe.

It followed storms Malik and Corrie in January, which left 118,000 homes in Scotland and 80,000 in England without power.

And in November, whole communities were left without power for days during Storm Arwen while travellers from Elgin to Aberdeen were.

Source of news: bbc.com