The snow storm, dubbed the "beast from the east" has so affected England badly where four people have died in car crashes amid the heavy snow.

Forecasters said the entire east coast, central belt and as far west as Greenock will also be hit - while the worst affected areas could see up to 40cm of snow and a wind chill of minus 10C.

Amber warnings were issued between 6am this morning and 6pm on Thursday for Highlands, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Falkirk, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, East Lothian and Edinburgh.

Midlothian, Scottish Borders, West Lothian, Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire are also affected.

Chief Superintendent Stewart Carle, head of Police Scotland's Road Policing said: "Due to this 'Be Prepared' alert, we would urge people who live or intend to visit the regions within the Amber warning area to avoid travelling on the roads unless absolutely necessary."

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: "The Met Office is telling us that we’re going to see some extremely challenging conditions over the next few days, so I’d urge people follow police advice and to avoid travel in the areas affected by the amber snow warnings.

"Consider if you need to make your journey. If you do set out, you are likely to face disruption and could potentially be stranded, so make sure you are properly prepared with a winter kit, warm clothing, food and drink."

Earlier, he said on BBC Radio Scotland there was a possibility that the alert could be upgraded to red in certain areas, saying "we are right on the cusp, we are at the strongest possible amber warning, and right on the cusp of potentially becoming a red".

Met Office guidance for red warnings states: "Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely."

Scottish Borders Council, East Renfrewshire Council and Falkirk Council all announced they would shut all schools and nurseries today in advance of the weather.

Other councils said they would continue to review the situation and update early this morning.

The Scottish Government asked employers to consider being as flexible as possible, and officials were in contact with the haulage industry to make their members aware of the conditions.

Scotrail said that it would be "making changes to services so that we can safely continue to get our customers where they need to be" and urged commuters to check its website and app for any updates.