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Weather warnings for Storm Doris have been upgraded, with heavy snow now forecast in parts of Scotland.

After a mainly mild February, gales, snow and rain are due to sweep in on Thursday.

The Met Office initially warned the worst of the weather would hit England, with yellow "be aware" warnings for Scotland, but they have now been upgraded to the amber "be prepared" across the central belt, the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside and Fife.

Up to 15cm of snow is expected to fall "quite widely", with accumulations of 30cm potentially falling on hills above 300 metres.

Winds of up to 80mph are expected to hit northern Scotland on Wednesday before Doris arrives from the Atlantic on Thursday, the Met Office said.

(Image: SWNS)

On Thursday, the strongest winds are forecast across England but there could be gusts of 50mph to 60mph across southern and eastern Scotland.

The Met Office said: "As storm Doris moves eastwards across central parts of the UK on Thursday, a spell of heavy snow is expected on its northern flank.

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"There is some uncertainty over the track of Doris and, therefore, over the extent of snowfall, but confidence is now higher for disruptive snow to affect the amber area.

"Heavy snow is expected on Thursday. Accumulations of 10 to 15cm are likely quite widely, with 20 to 30cm falling on hills above 300 metres.

"This will lead to disruption to transport and perhaps power supplies."

(Image: Met Office)

Stein Connelly, of Traffic Scotland, said: "With the unsettled conditions expected over the next few days, we are advising road users to check all of the available information on the Traffic Scotland website before they set off on their journey.

"On Thursday the worst of any snow will be on the higher routes, especially in the central and south of Scotland, and we would ask road users to keep this in mind when they are planning their journeys and that they drive according to the conditions.

"We have more gritters than ever before to spread salt as conditions dictate and salt stocks remain healthy.

"The Traffic Scotland twitter feed and website has the reliable traffic and travel information that drivers need to make informed decisions."

Storm Doris is the first major winter weather front for two months.

The north of the country was worst-affected, with homes losing power when Storm Conor hit on Boxing Day with winds of more than 90mph.