Vehicles were trapped as gale-force winds carried mud-coloured waves of snow onto the A98 near Buckie. Snow ploughs were used to try and clear the stretch, close to its junction with the B9016, but were unable to make it through and the road remains closed.

Icicles covered businesses in the village of Braemar. The Met Office says Braemar in Aberdeenshire recorded the coldest night since December 1995.

Scottish seabirds, including guillemots, kittiwakes, and terns, have experienced significant losses due to avian flu, with 2,300 sick and dead birds reported in a two-week period, and it is expected to take years for populations to recover.

The discovery in the Cairngorms is only the eighth time a cow wheat shieldbug has been recorded in Scotland.