Forecasters are warning of ice and freezing temperatures as Scotland shivers into the start of the new year. 

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather alert for the whole of the country from 6pm on Sunday until 11am on Monday.

The forecaster warned of the risk of injuries from slips and falls, as well as icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths.

It added: “Following recent wet conditions, surfaces are likely to remain wet into Monday morning and, with a cold night, icy stretches will readily form on untreated surfaces.

“A few rain, sleet and snow showers may still affect these areas overnight but ice remains the main hazard.”

A snow warning across central, northern Scotland was in place until noon today.

 

 

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We have got an area of rain and hill snow across Scotland and that is moving northwards as we speak.

“But that rain and hill snow will eventually move out into the Northern Isles, late Sunday afternoon/evening, leaving behind a few showers across the bulk of Scotland but with lighter winds and clear spells developing.

READ MORE: Met Office issues amber weather warning 

“We’re expecting temperatures to drop quite quickly, quite widely – actually below zero – with some rural spots getting down to minus 7C, minus 8C tonight in the Highlands.”

A low of minus 8.6C was recorded in Altnaharra in the Highlands on Saturday night, and similar overnight temperatures are expected in rural spots on Sunday.

Mr Stroud added: “The rest of the UK, certainly a colder night than the night just gone… a few showers moving off of the north and west around Liverpool Bay area across the Lake District, and those will leave behind wet surfaces during the course of the afternoon and into the evening.

“So we’re expecting temperatures to get low enough for a few icy stretches to develop by around midnight across parts of Northern Ireland and northern England.

“The big thing tonight, most people will notice across England and Wales, is it will feel colder than it has done the last few nights. We’re looking at temperatures into mid-single figures with a rural frost possible in parts of Wales, for example.

“There’s the risk of some icy stretches around, so definitely anyone out early tomorrow morning just needs to take some care.

“We’re expecting a lot of wet weather as we move into the working week.

“The best day of the week is probably going to be Bank Holiday Monday, with a lot of dry and generally fine weather across the country, a bit of a cloud in the mix, with cloud and rain moving in early Tuesday morning.

“And then our focus gets to a spell of wet weather (on) Tuesday into Wednesday and that could produce quite a bit of rain across some western locations.”