Scotland is bracing itself for heavy snow, risking bringing main roads to a standstill.

A yellow warning has been put in place for parts of the country, including the Highlands, from 2pm on Monday until midnight.

The Met Office expects as much as 10cm to accumulate in some places, affecting main roads including the A9 between Pitlochry and Aviemore.

Blizzard conditions and high winds are also expected.

The warning covers the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Angus, Perth & Kinross, Stirling and Argyll & Bute.

A warning for ice has also been issued for most of the country between 9pm on Monday and 11am on Tuesday.

Simon Partridge, of the Met Office, said: "It's already picking up over the western Highlands and is most likely over the high grounds with guaranteed snow at 200-300 metres.

"For now, after the main band is cleared up by about 9/10pm, showers will follow, meaning sleet and snow will lap up on any snow already there.

"You're looking a potential case of nearly 10cm of snow in areas above 500m.

"Some snow could be seen on the lower levels, so it's not exclusively left to the high ground - but it could end up being rain, snow, rain.

"So, on and off there could be snow from now until the early hours of Wednesday for the west of Scotland, and the best part of 24 hours."

Temperatures in the early hours could drop to as low as minus 2C (28.4F) in Pitlochry while Southampton may see highs of 7C (44.6F).

He added: "The main problem is that skies become clear so there's an ice risk after midnight which could cause some big issues during the overnight period.

"There'll be further showers tomorrow with some hail and sleet along the coasts, on the hills and mountains you can see it turning into snow."