Edinburgh weather: Ice warning after snow

EDINBURGH was braced for another gloomy day after being bombarded by snow, sleet and rain as winter made its presence felt.

Could it be a white Christmas this year? Picture: Toby Williams

Freezing conditions slowed traffic and closed attractions at the Capital’s Christmas celebrations yesterday.

The Forth Road Bridge was closed for an hour after snow and ice started falling on to vehicles below, causing a danger to drivers.

The Christmas Tree Maze in a waterlogged Princes Street Gardens was shut last night, with organisers offering ticket holders refunds or new dates.

The Forth Road Bridge was closed. Picture: Dan Phillips

And the onslaught of winter weather has seen the odds on a white Christmas slashed to just 3/1 – their shortest since 2010.

The Met Office has issued a yellow “be aware” warning over much of the south-east of Scotland, with forecasters warning temperatures could drop below freezing for much of today and into the weekend.

But experts insisted that the Capital would only experience fleeting snow cover as blustery conditions whip the streets and rain sweeps in, with temperatures expected to rise again on Sunday.

A Met Office spokesman said: “This afternoon will see a high chance of rain showers, with some snow on higher areas.

The scene in Oxgangs today. Picture: Comp

“The evening and night look to be dry, clear and cold again, with frost and icy patches.

“And Saturday itself will be dry for most of the day – quite cold and bright – with patches of rain later on in the day.”

Yesterday, it was revealed odds on a white Christmas had dropped to their shortest since 2010 – the last time William Hill paid out on a significant number of cities – with Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow all 3/1 to see snow on Christmas Day.

And the UK’s other capital cities are not far behind, with Belfast 5/1, Cardiff at 6/1 and London 6/1.

Morningside has seen snow lie. Picture: Comp

Joe Crilly of William Hill said: “In 2010 there was a sustained cold snap before Christmas Day which culminated in a number of stations around the country seeing snow and us paying out quite a sum of money to our festive punters.

“We now think that there will be a couple of places that will see snow this Christmas.”