Parts of Scotland are bracing for a change in weather as the Met Office issues yellow warnings for snow and ice across Thursday-Friday, January 6-7.

Up and down the UK the Met Office warned of localised “blizzard conditions”, which hit the north of Scotland on Tuesday and Wednesday.

READ MORE: East Lothian yellow warning for snow

The forecaster has said there could be as much as 10cm of snow falling on the highest ground, as well as the risk of dangerous icy patches and of lightning strikes from isolated thunderstorms.

This comes after unseasonably warm temperatures at the end of 2021.

READ MORE: Met Office: Central Scotland braced for 'thundersnow' as warning extended

When these warnings are in place people should expect disruption to travel, icy patches and possible power outages.

The Met Office has also warned of possible ‘thundersnow’ which could hit this week.

But what is it and how does it affect the weather?

What is thundersnow?

According to the Met Office, thundersnow occurs when thunderstorms form in wintery conditions and release heavy downpours of snow. Paired with the usual thunder and lighting, this creates thundersnow.

This is a particularly unusual phenomenon as it can only occur a few times a year.

It is driven by the same conditions that cause thunderstorms in the summer; the difference in temperature between the ground and the air surrounding it.

“The snow contained within the thunderstorm acts to dampen the sound of the thunder,” the Met Office says.

“While the thunder from a typical thunderstorm might be heard many miles away, the thunder during a thundersnow event will only be heard if you are within 2 to 3 miles of the lightning.”

The falling snow can even make lightning strikes look brighter as the flash reflects off the snowflakes.

The yellow weather warning is set to be in place at 8pm on Thursday until 11am on Friday, and the alert, which includes Glasgow, stretches along the east of Scotland and into the north of England beyond Manchester. It also includes part of Northern Ireland, the Met Office said.

The alert also includes the Highlands and Islands, Central, Tayside and Fife, the south-west, Strathclyde, Lothian and Borders.

Grahame Madge, a spokesman at the Met Office, said: “We have got an area of high pressure across the UK, that will remain in situ until the early hours of tomorrow morning. Then we will start to see the weather front coming in.

“As conditions get cold tonight, we’re seeing temperatures drop down to freezing quite widely. As we get the cold air, that will bring the temperatures right down, we’ve got the weather front coming in from the west and that moisture is going to bump into the cold air and where you get that you will get snow.”