Borders no longer seeing red but still on amber alert for snow

A snowplough in Scott's Place in Selkirk today.

Borderers are also still being warned to avoid driving unless absolutely necessary as many of the region’s roads remain impassable, and all schools in the Borders will remain closed tomorrow for the third day running.

Roads currently closed by the snowstorm dubbed the Beast from the East include all routes in Tweeddale except the A703 from Leadburn to Peebles, the A697 Oxton-Morpeth route in its entirety, the A1107 from Coldingham to the A1 at Tower Farm, the A698 at Heiton, the B6364 between Greenlaw and Kelso, the A6088 from Bonchester Bridge to Carter Bar and the A68 south of Jedburgh to Carter Bar.

Many shops have been shut today too, leading to deliveries of copies of the Southern Reporter to newsagents being badly hit, but hopefully they will be on shelves before the weekend is out.

Scottish Government Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Conditions continue to be treacherous across much of Scotland, which has led to the decision by the Met Office to extend the amber warning for snow overnight and through the Friday morning rush hour, signalling the potentially life-threatening nature of the extreme weather.

“Throughout today and into tomorrow morning, the clear and unequivocal advice for people in affected areas is not to travel unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.

“Clearly there are pressures on our emergency services, and we thank those individuals for going above and beyond in difficult conditions.

Snow at Douglas Bridge in Galashiels on Thursday.

“Work is also under way, as a matter of urgency, to ensure essential staff in our hospitals can get to work.

“I would encourage employers to continue to show flexibility for their staff, because safety is paramount.

“I would urge people to continue to look out for the vulnerable in their communities during these difficult conditions.”

Scottish Borders Council executive Tracey Logan added: “We continue to deal with an extremely challenging situation.

Snow at the railway station in Galashiels today and a warning to passengers that trains services have been cancelled.

“Heavy snowfall, high winds and freezing conditions are continuing across the area.

“The Met Office is advising that this is expecting to continue throughout today and into tomorrow.

“We also expect conditions to remain challenging over the weekend and into next week.

“While the red weather warning came to an end at 10am today, please remember that an amber warning remains in place until 10am tomorrow and therefore Police Scotland is still urging people to avoid travel.

Snow at the Auld Kirkyard in Selkirk on Thursday.

“I would also like to ask people to consider their request before they contact us during this extremely challenging period.

“We are currently dealing with a Borders-wide emergency incident, with a huge number of requests for assistance coming into the emergency bunker, so please only contact us if your request is urgent.”

For real-time journey information, visit Traffic Scotland’s website, trafficscotland.org, or call 0800 028 1414