MOTORISTS faced delays as the first cold snap of the year gripped the west of Scotland.

Temperatures fell to zero overnight with parts of the west of Scotland waking up to snow and ice this morning.

There was some travel disruption as ice closed the A82 in Alexandria, causing traffic jams between Stoneymollan Roundabout and the Renton Road junction.

But Glasgow fared better than most as wind and rain set for Edinburgh and the east will spare the city.

Ben Windsor, of Meteogroup, the weather arm of the Press Association, said: "At the moment it's looking pretty good for the west of Scotland: dry, cold and clear.

"There will be heavy winds of up to 60mph tomorrow but after that it will be sunny and bright until the weekend.

"The east of Scotland is to be hit by heavy rain but Glasgow is going to miss out on that, so some good news there."

Thursday and Sunday will see the mercury plummet to -2C, making them the coldest days this week. A high of 7C is expected tomorrow with light showers overnight tonight clearing to make the rest of the week dry and cold.

Severe weather warnings have been issued for most of Scotland as the Scottish Government planned to deploy 126 gritting lorries across the country's A-roads.

Eight footpaths

were also due to be treated.

The Met Office has put in place a series of Yellow 'Be Aware' warnings covering the north and west of Scotland until midnight tomorrow.

Northern Scotland will see the coldest spells with overnight temperatures could fall as low as -5°C and up to 10cm of snow on higher ground.