Renfrewshire Council has announced all schools and nurseries in the area will be shut. 

After announcing on social media on Wednesday that schools would be closed, staff have now said this will continue on Thursday due to severe snowfall. 

It comes after the Met Office issued a red weather warning for central Scotland for this afternoon. 

The post on the council's Facebook page yesterday morning said: "All schools and nurseries in Renfrewshire are closed today due to the severe overnight weather.

"Please avoid travel where possible.

"We will update parents immediately through our normal channels when a decision has been made regarding the opening of schools & nurseries tomorrow."

A decision about whether to open schools on Friday will be made in due course.

Giving a forecast for Wednesday and Thursday north of the border, Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: "With the snow coming increasingly aligned into bands accompanied by strong winds, there is the risk of blizzards and the risk of really significant snow accumulations building up - 5cm to 10cm (2in-4in) widely (in the amber area) with 15cm to 25cm (6-10in) locally and the potential for the hills to see 40cm (16in) of snowfall building up by the end of Thursday.

"Maximum temperatures on Wednesday will be barely above freezing and adding in that keen easterly wind it will feel more like minus 10C (14F)."

Other services such as busses and trains have also been hit by the unusually cold and snowy conditions.

Bin and refuse collections have also been suspended.

Anyone who has any snow stories or tales of disruption then email laura.forsyth@newsquest.co.uk. Updates to follow...