Around seven inches of snow fell in Aviemore in the Highlands as an Arctic weather front bore down on the UK.  And yesterday nine hillwalkers, including six teenagers had to be rescued after becoming stranded in the treacherous conditions.  A major rescue operation was launched after the party became stuck in the Cairngorms.  Around four hours after they were initially alerted, police confirmed that the entire group had been rescued successfully.  The wintry blast comes just a week after record-breaking warm temperatures in north-eastern Scotland.  Last Tuesday temperatures rose to 23.6C in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, marking a new high in Scotland for the month.  Yesterday the mercury dropped to minus 0.5C overnight and was at 0C at 6am.  Wintry weather ... man clears snow from street north of Edinburgh  The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for all of Scotland, as well as parts of northern England, Yorkshire and Humber, and the East Midlands.  Pile-up ... seven vehicle accident in Shotts, North Lanarkshire  The snow caused widespread travel chaos as temperatures plunged. Emergency services attend a seven-vehicle accident in Shotts, North Lanarkshire.  There were a number of other collisions and reports of cars sliding off the road in Tayside and Fife where some vehicles also became stuck in the snow in the Largoward and St Monans area.  Cold snap ... couple walk through snow-covered Aboyne, Aberdeenshire  Roads were closed in some areas due to the weather.  Around four inches (10cm) of snow carpeted most parts of northern Scotland, with 7.5 inches (17cm) recorded in Aviemore and temperatures of minus 2.7C in Glen Ogle.  Hot spell ... woman rollerskates in sunny London last week  Scotland’s central belt was also hit by the wintry weather, which will gradually creep into northern England, parts of Wales and the Midlands in the coming 24 hours.  Scottish Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “This kind of weather is much more normal for Scotland than the superb weather we have had over the previous days. So we have had, for example, 124 gritters out overnight.  “Because we’ve not had this kind of weather over previous weeks, it can catch people by surprise and what we’re saying is people should listen to the media, take on board any information they’ve got about the likely length of time to make their journeys and take the appropriate precautions.”  Temperatures plunge ... more than seven inches of snow has been recorded in Scotland  Forecasters predict that the snow will move south.  The weather is in stark contrast to March’s hot weather: the only years to have had a warmer month in the past 100 years are 1938, 1948, 1957, 1990 and 1997.  What a difference ... cloud-free picture on left taken on 27 March, while the image on the right was taken yesterday
PARTS of Britain woke up to snow today as last week's scorching weather is replaced by wintry sub-zero temperatures