A mountain rescue team was called to help with motorists who were trapped on a motorway in wintry conditions.
Moffat Mountain Rescue Team were asked to attend and check on drivers stuck in their vehicles on the M74, after heavy snow showers hit Scotland on Tuesday evening.
Traffic Scotland closed parts of the motorway in Lanarkshire in both directions, due to wintry conditions, for a number of hours – with tailbacks said to be stretching back for six miles.
The Met Office has issued amber “be prepared” warnings of snow and ice for southern Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Forecasters warn of “heavy squally showers of snow” which may cause power cuts and disruption on the roads, with 15cm-25cm of snow possible on high ground, and 5cm-10cm more typical at lower levels.
A spokesman for the Met Office said: “It’s looking pretty unsettled, there’s a lot of weather to come.
“Through the night there will be some heavy showers which bring the risk of several centimetres of snow and risk of ice.”
The warnings, which cover Central Scotland, Tayside, Fife, southern Scotland, Lothian and Borders, Strathclyde and Northern Ireland, are valid until 8am on Wednesday.
Yellow “be aware” warnings of snow and ice across much of Scotland and Northern Ireland are in force until 6pm on Wednesday.
Similar warnings are also in place for parts of Wales, the Midlands and southern England until 11am on Wednesday.
In areas that saw snow overnight on Tuesday, temperatures dropped to 0C-2C (32F-36F).
Gritters were out in force across Scotland, with pictures on social media showing particularly difficult driving conditions on the M8 near Easterhouse.
Drivers were asked to avoid the M8 after long delays were reported during rush hour.
Snow and sleet affected many other roads in Scotland including the A74, A9, M9, M80, A720, M77, A7 and M73.
The A9 at Dalwhinnie was closed for two hours after a lorry jack-knifed close to the snow gates.
More than 50 schools and nurseries in the Highlands have been closed due to the weather with over 3,000 children enjoying a snow day.
A number of schools in South Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway were also affected.
Northern England and Northern Ireland have also seen flurries of snow, while there were also reports of thundersnow.
Showers are expected to continue into the early hours with wintry falls on Wednesday, especially across the north.
RAC spokesman Pete Williams said: “With the weather having deteriorated quickly this evening a lot of motorists are running into difficulty.
“Our patrols are working extremely hard to keep people moving in snowy conditions from Scotland down to West Yorkshire. We strongly recommend drivers delay non-essential journeys.”