Motorists have been warned to take care and rural communites told they may be cut off after forecasters issued an amber weather warning for snow in the central belt.
A band of icy flurries arrived early this morning bringing hazardous conditions to the roads and disruption to travel.
The Met Office alert - the second highest category - warns that delays and cancellations to rail and air travel are likely, while power cuts may occur.
It covers Glasgow and the surrounding area, stretching to Greenock, Stirling and Inveraray.
An amber warning for #snow remains in place until midday today across parts of Scotland
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 16, 2022
Please take care if you are out and about throughout today. Difficult travelling conditions are likely
Further details here 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Stay #WeatherAware⚠️ pic.twitter.com/jdG1piSGhG
The cold snap is set to continue into the weekend until Sunday, when a band of rain and milder air will arrive.
A yellow weather warning for snow and ice covering the majority of Scotland, Wales, the north of England and the Midlands has also been issued, lasting from 3am to 9pm on Sunday.
Forecasters say the UK will be swept by snow on Saturday night with the potential for up to 15cm in the north of Scotland.
READ MORE: Sleet and snow expected across much of country
But a band of rain followed by milder air will move in on Sunday, bringing an end to the current cold snap.
It comes as the current severe weather conditions have caused major disruption across the UK in the last few days.
Gritters were out in Glasgow this morning
Meanwhile, engineers have warned that some people on Shetland could be without power until the weekend as they work to reconnect thousands entering their fourth day without power after significant snowfall.
Met Office meteorologist Ellie Wilson said: “A band of rain and snow is going to be moving north-eastwards across the country through Sunday.
“It’s bringing milder air behind it, but that milder air bumps into the cold air that’s where we’re seeing where the snow is likely to fall.”
Ms Wilson said the snow could fall up to 8cm over Wales and 15cm in the north of Scotland.
READ MORE: 2,400 homes without power as network rebuild continues
But she added: “That snow will quickly be followed by rain so any of those accumulations shouldn’t last too long.
“Because of the current cold conditions that we’ve seen, any of that snowfall will be falling onto cold frozen surfaces so there is a risk of ice here through the morning.
“That rain will quickly be following closely behind later on Sunday,” she added.
Snow in Glasgow
Ms Wilson said temperatures on Sunday afternoon onwards will be “on the rise” and will likely hit 9-10C in the west.
While it will still feel cold in the morning in Scotland and the north of England, she said: “Once that rain band arrives, it will be getting warmer.”
The meteorologist said that temperatures will likely have risen to 11-13C across the UK on Monday.
Asked if this is the end to the recent cold weather, she said: “For the time being, yes, it does look like it’s the end of the cold conditions we’ve been seeing recently.”
From Monday onwards, the UK will see “a slight trend” of temperatures dipping closer to average, nearing single figures but it will not be “quite as cold as we’ve seen over the last few days”.
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