Snow on Ben Lomond
Weather women Lucy Versamy and Carol Kirkwood and Ben Lomond.
By Lizzie Healey
Cold weather ‘is here to stay for now’ with disruptive snow a very real possibility, say weather forecasters
There is snow on Ben Lomond right now and more snow and plunging temperatures may hit West Dunbartonshire and South Argyll next week and a prolonged cold snap could last several weeks, forecasters have said.
The current cold spell will continue over the weekend, with largely grey, gloomy conditions and patches of rain and sleet in southern areas today, according to the Met Office.
There is an air of uncertainty around weather predictions due to a sudden stratospheric warming event at the end of December, causing temperatures to rapidly rise in the atmosphere, leaving open the possibility of an extended cold period.
Conditions look set to turn colder next week with the possibility of heavy rain, sleet and snow across the country.
Temperatures sunk as low as -9C (16F) in parts of northern Scotland as the weekend began, while in the South conditions hovered a few degrees above freezing.
Last week saw the coldest temperatures of the year recoded along Loch Lomondside and Clydeside.
A cold front sweeping in from the North West on Sunday morning will bring fresh dustings of hill snow for the Highlands and Grampians.