Scotland is on snow alert after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for flurries in the lead up to Christmas.
Snow is forecast across many northern parts of Scotland from 3pm on Thursday until 11am on Christmas Eve with a 'white Christmas' predicted for the first time in years.
Almost three inches of snow will fall overnight on higher ground, affecting areas in Central, Tayside & Fife, the Highlands, Strathclyde and Aberdeenshire.
According to the Met Office, snow and wintry showers will last until Christmas Day in northern Scotland.
The Met Office's yellow weather warning for snow could mean some roads and railways are affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.
The forecaster said: "Rain will increasingly fall as snow during Thursday afternoon, become more widespread through the evening before turning lighter and patchier in nature on Friday.
"Initially snow will tend to be confined to areas above 500 metres or so, but during the evening snow will typically start to fall to 300 to 400 metres and perhaps fall to 200 metres in a few spots overnight.
"The bulk of accumulations will be above 300 to 400 metres with 2 to 5 centimetres possible and in excess of 10 centimetres possible above 500 metres."
Scotland's areas where snow will hit
Central, Tayside & Fife
Grampian
Highlands & Eilean Siar
Strathclyde
It comes as the Northern Lights could be spotted in Scotland this Christmas weekend due to a solar storm.
A celestial light display is expected on Thursday night and early on Christmas Eve due to a minor geomagnetic storm, according to the Met Office's space weather forecast.
The best times to spot the lights are between 10pm and midnight.
