Some of the worst snowfall in years is expected to hit parts of Scotland later this week.

The wintry conditions from Siberia will affect the north and east of the country from Monday night.

Weather warnings have been issued, with up to 20cm of snow in higher areas.

On Thursday, there could be as much as 15cm of snow in some parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Fife, Dundee, Edinburgh, the Lothians and the Borders with the possibility of more than 30cm in some spots.

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STV weather presenter Sean Batty said: “Some parts of the UK are in for a very disruptive spell of wintry weather this week and possibly historic.

“It’s likely the wintry conditions will be the worst that some areas have experienced for many years.

“People should not dismiss this as just another standard cold snap. This could be quite different to the wintry spells we’ve seen for a while.

“There will be some light snow showers in the east on Monday, but these will become heavier and more frequent from Tuesday.

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“In the north and east, heavy snow showers on Tuesday and Wednesday could lead to between 5 and 10cm of snow and up to 20cm in slightly higher areas. The occasional strong winds in these areas will also lead to blizzards.”

Temperatures are expected to drop as low as -5C in some areas and even plummet to -20C on mountain tops.

Sean said: “Over the last few days very cold air has been moving west out of Siberia across Russia and into the continent. The very cold air reaches Scotland on Monday night along with snow. This air will be the coldest to sweep the country for many years with a significant wind chill at times, especially in the east.

“There is likely to be a significant wind chill, which will make it feel an awful lot colder, especially since the air coming from Russia is very dry with a low dew point.

“The significant wind chill could be dangerous to Farmers’ livestock, especially from midweek onwards.

“The strongest winds will come and go, but will especially affect the likes of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Fife, East Lothian and the Borders.”

Major travel disruption is expected throughout the week as well as power cuts.

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Sean continued: “This week you should be prepared for travel disruption to rail, road and air, with the highest risk of this in the east.

“There’s a possibility of power cuts and for some rural areas to become cut off by snow.

“Anyone thinking of venturing into the hills this week, should stay tuned for the very latest forecasts.

“Conditions on the mountains will be very dangerous, especially from midweek with the very low temperatures, the wind chill and blizzards leading to life-threatening conditions.

“Normally in recent cold spells I’ve been able to give you a mild end to the story, but currently there’s no sign of a let up in the wintry weather for the foreseeable.

“This wintry weather could last well into March for us in Scotland.”