Scotland woke up on Wednesday to its second consecutive morning of heavy snowfall, ice and winds.

Many services are managing to carry on as normal, but others including roads, transport links and schools may be affected by the severe weather.

Which parts of Scotland have been worst hit by the wintry conditions?

More than 150 gritters were out on the roads overnight attempting to make them as safe and accessible as possible.

However, that can be easier said than done with snowfall lying 20 - 30cm deep in some places.

Motorists were urged to avoid the southbound section of the M74 earlier this morning as conditions were "extremely poor".

The motorway is currently open with no restrictions but police are still warning of "a high risk of disruption".

Other stretches of road, such as the A7 Hawick to Selkirk and the A1 Lamberton to Lossiemouth, were closed earlier but have since reopened.

Both the A9 Kessock Bridge and the A87 Skye Bridge were shut to traffic due to high winds but the Skye Bridge has now reopened.

Drivers in the Scottish Borders have been urged to only make essential journeys, and if they do need to travel to avoid back and minor roads.

You can see Traffic Scotland's full live list of incidents here.

You can also check on gritter routes throughout Scotland on this interactive app.

Scotland will be experiencing more treacherous, snowy roads overnight on Wednesday, with police in Dumfries and Galloway saying "once again resources are likely to be at full stretch".

Motorists in the area are recommended to continue avoiding non-essential trips, but those who do need to travel should bring an "emergency kit".

This should include a torch and spare batteries, warm clothing and blankets, a pair of boots, a first aid kit, food and a warm drink, and they should also make sure that mobile phones are fully charged.

The Scottish Government's Transport Minister Humza Yousaf has warned drivers to avoid travelling between 9pm and 5am in the areas affected by the Amber warning.

This is a result of Police Scotland's travel warning being upgraded to stage four.

Yousaf informed parliament of the upgrade earlier.

The areas affected by the travel warning are Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scottish Borders, West Lothian, East Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.

The Stage Four Amber warning has been issued as a result of severe snow showers forecasted for these areas overnight .

Police Scotland advises that those who do travel are likely to experience severe delays of several hours or more.

There will be a total of 154 gritters deployed across Scotland tonight.

ScotRail, Edinburgh Trams and Glasgow and Edinburgh airports all said they hope the majority of their services will be running as normal.

The above tweet has a link to ScotRail's live network map, and you can check Glasgow Airport's live flight information here and Edinburgh Airport's here.

A signalling system fault at Craigendoran is affecting ScotRail's Helensburgh to Edinburgh and West Highland Line services.

A similar fault between Partick and Exhibition Centre is causing delays on ScotRail's Partick to Glasgow Queen Street and Partick to Glasgow Central lines.

It has also meant that services on the Dumbarton Central and Cumbernauld have been suspended, with replacement buses in place.

Various CalMac ferry services have experienced disruptions, cancellations or changes, with the majority of others on alert due to the weather and liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice.

You can keep up to date with all CalMac ferry services on its service information Twitter account.

First Scotland East said that many of its bus routes are being amended to stick to main roads.

First Glasgow is reporting severe delays in Lanarkshire and East Dunbartonshire, with no services running to Shotts and Motherwell.

There are long delays on services from Cumbernauld, Kirkintilloch and Kilsyth and buses are currently not able to serve Castlemilk or Eaglesham.

A full list of affected services can be found on the link below.

One method of transport that seems to be taking off amid the wintry conditions in Edinburgh's Holyrood Park is snowkiting. Whether it will get you to work on time is another matter.

Around 320 schools and nurseries have been closed across Scotland on Wednesday, giving more than 40,000 pupils a day off.

All schools in the Scottish Borders council area have been closed along with a number of primary schools, nurseries and schools in Lanarkshire, the Highlands, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Perth and Kinross.

Scottish Borders Council said all schools will be closed again on Thursday.

In South Lanarkshire, 42 schools and nurseries have been closed, affecting more than 4500 pupils, with dozens more schools starting late.

South Lanarkshire Council and North Lanarkshire Council also confirmed additional support needs (ASN) transport to ASN schools and bases have been cancelled.

In North Lanarkshire, a number of school bus contractors are unable to collect pupils from certain areas. You can read the full list here.

Across the Highlands, more than 150 schools and nurseries were closed on Wednesday, with around 15,600 pupils affected, a full list of which can be found on the link below.

A total of 28 schools have been shut across East Ayrshire, affecting more than 4000 pupils, with a full list available here.

Kilmory Primary School in North Ayrshire has also closed its doors for the day.

So far, 26 schools are closed in the Dumfries and Galloway council area, affecting at least 3700 pupils, with a spate of other schools due to open late. A list can be found here.

Two primary schools in Perth and Kinross - Glenlyon and Kinloch Rannoch - have been shut due to the adverse weather, while Crieff High School is open only to local pupils.

South Lanarkshire Council  have announced that all prelim exams for S4, S5 and S6 pupils at Calderside Academy have been cancelled.

The local authority said: "Due to weather concerns prelims for S4, S5, S6 pupils scheduled for Thursday 18 and Friday 19 January have been cancelled.

"All prelims on Monday 22 to Friday 26 January will go ahead as planned. New dates for cancelled prelims will be posted to parents. Study leave has been extended until 31 January inclusive."

Lesmahagow High School will close at 12:45 with a total of 42 schools and nurseries in the area set to close.

You can find the full list on The South Lanarkshire Council website here.

All schools in East Ayrshire will also be closed on Thursday in the interest of pupil safety.

East Ayrshire Council said: "All schools and educational establishments in East Ayrshire will be closed on Thursday 18th January.

"This extends to primaries, secondaries, early childhood centres and special needs establishments, and to organisations who use these facilities out of hours.

"We have taken this decision following advice from partners and colleagues in education, roads and transportation and in response to an amber weather warning for more snow and ice coming our way this evening and into tomorrow morning.

"In the interests of ensuring the safety of pupils, parents, staff and carers, we consider this to be the safest option for all concerned.

"The situation will be closely monitored tomorrow (Thursday) before any decisions are taken for Friday."

There are a total of 54 schools in the East Ayrshire area.