WATCH: Major disruption across Glasgow and the West expected to last until the weekend

Most schools across Glasgow and the West will remain closed until Monday. Glasgow City Council, Renfrewshire Council, East Renfrewshire Council, South Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, East Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire and East Dunbartonshire have all confirmed they will be closed.

South Ayrshire Council has confirmed they will be open as normal on Friday.

ScotRail have started running a limited service between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Falkirk High which will run until 7pm on Thursday but all other Glasgow services are cancelled indefinitely and most of the major bus operators have confirmed their services are suspended.

Glasgow Airport is closed for the rest of the day leaving a newly wed couple are having an unusual honeymoon - stranded in Glasgow Airport amid the wild weather. Chris and Vicky Robinson, from Stranraer, got married last weekend and were looking forward to a luxury holiday in the Maldives when heavy snow closed the airport on Wednesday.

Instead of enjoying 30C heat in the Indian Ocean, they spent the night in chairs in Glasgow Airport's main terminal - catching a few hours sleep as they waited for news on a rescheduled departure.

Mr Robinson, 29, said: “We were about to board the plane yesterday at 1pm, and 15 minutes before we were to take off they cancelled it and we've been here since (in the terminal), slept here with a lack of information through the night.

“It was very subdued, people were quiet and a bit confused because there wasn't much information. We'd heard about camp beds and blankets, but we got no information about that.

“There's been more information this morning, I know it's been tricky for (the airport) because of maybe a lack of workers and it's difficult for everyone.''

Mrs Robinson, 27, said she had shed a few tears on Wednesday.

“If we don't get away by tonight then we'll probably not go because it's only a week we're going for and it's too far to go for any less than that really,'' she said.

“There was tears to start with but there's not much you can do. We had the perfect wedding so you can't ask for everything. My suitcase isn't going to work out for this weather in Glasgow for a week so we might need to go home.''

The airport said it has faced an unprecedented weather situation amid the Met Office red alert on Wednesday and Thursday morning. Many staff also stayed at the airport overnight to help with the situation, and runway teams have been working since Tuesday night to try to clear flight paths.

The airport and airlines were able to find some hotel rooms for passengers stranded in Glasgow, but many slept in the terminal with others camping in a conference room of the nearby Holiday Inn hotel.

A Glasgow Airport spokesman said: “A severe amber warning advising against all but essential travel has been issued by the Met Office and will remain in place until tomorrow morning. In light of this and the impact it is having on passengers and staff, including airline staff, travelling to and from the airport we will remain closed for the rest of the day.

“This decision has been taken with safety of passengers and staff in mind.''

Extreme weather and jack-knifed lorries combined to cause “significant challenges'' on one of Scotland's main roads where motorists were stranded overnight, the Deputy First Minister said.

John Swinney said there had been an “extensive operation'' taking place to try to get traffic on the M80 motorway - which links Glasgow and Stirling - moving again. Motorists reported being stuck for up to 13 hours, with some spending the night in their cars, and others abandoning their vehicles on the motorway.

Emergency responders and volunteer agencies, including mountain rescue teams, checked on stranded drivers, with some good samaritans also handing out food.

HGV driver Alex Downie from Dundee said he had been stuck on the M80 near Castlecary since 5pm on Wednesday.

He told BBC Radio Scotland: “The northbound M80 is moving but southbound we have been stationary, I haven't moved since 5.10 last night.

“A few volunteer people came up and down the roads, it must have been about one o'clock this morning, a gentleman came over from his house with provisions and passed them out to people in cars.

“The police came round on the northbound carriageway at four this morning and informed us that the road was open and we would be moving again. That was the last police car we seen, that was the last information we had as well.''

It happened after the first ever red weather warning was issued for much of central Scotland, with people advised not to travel.

Mr Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland the country was experiencing “the most significant snow incident we've had since 2010''.

And he said the M80 had been a “particular pinch point'' after traffic ground to a halt.

The Deputy First Minister said: “The M80 has presented much more significant challenges to us overnight and there has been a very strong operation to try to gain traction over the course of the night.

“Although many people were stuck for a long time we did get the road moving quite significantly, but there are people who have been stuck there for a long time.

“That's a combination of the intensity of the snow, but also the fact that we have had quite a number of jack-knifed lorries on that particular stretch of the road and the minute that happens the road gets blocked and nobody can get through.''

He said the “overwhelming majority'' of Scots had heeded warnings to stay at home.

“Many people have responded to those warnings very significantly but we do face challenges at particular pinch points, and the M80 has been our most difficult situation to try to manage,'' he said.

“I assure members of the public there has been an extensive operation in place to try to maintain traction on that road and to get motorists on the move as quickly as possible.''

He also stressed people should stay at home today unless they are essential workers.

Mr Swinney stated: “People should avoid travel for the whole of today, that's the clearest and the sharpest warning I can give, that people should avoid travel today to give us an opportunity to clear the incidents we have and to give us an opportunity to recover the network for the safe movement of individuals in due course

“My encouragement to people for the whole of today is not to travel unless they are an emergency worker, because if they do that that will help us maintain public services, get essential workers to where we need them and to make sure that people are safe.''

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned Scots not to travel while “very extreme'' arctic weather conditions are gripping the country - telling the public that if they did attempt a journey there was a “significant risk'' they could end up stranded.

She also sent a “blunt'' message to transport company bosses, who had continued to send drivers out on to the roads despite official warnings to avoid non-essential journeys.

Traffic cameras covering the M80 motorway - where hundreds of drivers were trapped in their cars overnight after a combination of extreme weather and jack-knifed lorries blocked the road - showed that “there were far more HGVs on that road than there should have been when a red warning was in place'', Ms Sturgeon said.

She added: “I saw some branded HGVs in pictures yesterday and given the branding on them I would struggle to say that their transport was unavoidable.

“So that is a message I think should go out very strongly from this chamber to companies who use HGVs during weather conditions like this.''

She spoke out at First Minister's Questions at Holyrood - which went ahead despite the severe weather conditions.

Although the red level warning put in place for much of central Scotland was lifted earlier on Thursday, the Met Office extended the high level amber alert over many parts until Friday morning

Ms Sturgeon said: “That means the advice today for the general public remains do not travel unless it is unavoidable.''

The First Minister told people: “While everything possible will be done to keep roads clear and open, if you do travel during this period you do face significant risk of encountering blocked roads and possibly becoming stranded.''

Ms Sturgeon said the situation on the M80 was now “improving'' as she praised all the police, fire service, mountain rescue teams, volunteers and others for efforts to keep the stranded travellers safe.

The Scottish Government's resilience committee - the equivalent of the UK Cobra emergency committee - has been meeting regularly to monitor the situation, with efforts now focusing on helping essential workers such as NHS staff get to work.

The severe weather conditions forced the Scottish Conservatives to cancel their conference, which had been due to take place on Friday and Saturday in Aberdeen - with Ms Sturgeon thanking Tory leader Ruth Davidson for the “responsibility that has been shown around the arrangements for their party conference''.

The First Minister also sought to assure people that “every possible resource will be brought to bear to ensure we are keeping the country moving as far as we can, given the travel warnings that are in place, but also ensuring that there is a recovery as quickly as possible once those warnings are lifted''.

More than 200 snow ploughs and gritting vehicles have been operating across Scotland's major road network, she said, adding that more than 360,000 tonnes of salt were available to treat carriageways.

The First Minister also urged bosses to “be flexible and to put the safety of their staff first at all times'' when dealing with workers who are unable to travel because of the weather.

That message was echoed by Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie, who said no employees should be left in a position of choosing between travelling unsafely in dangerous weather conditions or staying home and losing pay.

“Given the prevalence now of casualised work, zero hours contracts and the gig economy, does the First Minister agree that no employers should put an employee in the position of losing pay in order to stay safe?'' he asked.

Ms Sturgeon said: “I would take this opportunity to encourage employers, to urge employers... to be flexible and above all else to make sure that they are putting the safety of their workers first and above anything else.

“When weather warnings, red or amber, are issued as they have been in recent days, these are not warnings just issued for the sake of convenience, these are warnings issued for the sake of the safety of the public and particularly the travelling public.

“All of us have a responsibility to make sure that these warnings are heeded and that very definitely includes employers.'