JUST as it recovers from Storm Arwen, Scotland is once again set to be battered by a severe weather system.

Storm Barra will bring ice, snow, downpours and gale-force winds.

The Met Office has issued three yellow weather warnings covering Scotland for Tuesday and has warned the weather could be a threat to life.

Forecasters say coastal areas of the UK will be hit with high waves and flying debris, with up to 20cm of snow expected to fall in some areas.

Ferries have been cancelled and the extreme conditions are expected to affect driving conditions and cause disruption to travel and power.

Late on Monday, a last minute ice warning was put in place for much of Scotland.

People living in Glasgow, Ayrshire, Dumfries, Borders and the Highlands were told to prepare for potentially hazardous conditions as temperatures dipped below freezing overnight.

The warning came into force from 9pm, having only been issued at 8pm, and lasts until 9am on Tuesday.

A statement from forecasters reads: "Showers this evening, wintry over high ground, will gradually die out overnight.

"Wet surfaces are expected to fall below freezing quite quickly under clear skies. Ice is quite likely where surfaces remain untreated, or where showers wash off grit."

The Met Office said it is likely that Barra will not be as bad as Arwen, its predecessor, but that disruption to the travel network is likely, with snow and heavy rain in some areas until Wednesday.

READ MORE: When and where it will snow in Scotland this week as yellow weather warnings issued

Deputy first minister John Swinney chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government’s Resilience Room on Monday ahead of the arrival of the storm.

“In preparation for Storm Barra, I met resilience partners to oversee efforts and ensure every possible resource is deployed and continues to stand by to co-ordinate support,” he said after the meeting.

“The Scottish Government is in close contact with local authorities and the emergency services to ensure people in the affected areas receive the latest information and support where needed. I would urge everyone in the affected areas to exercise caution and follow the latest travel advice.

“I want to assure the public that we have strong and robust arrangements in place to manage and address weather-related resilience issues at a national, regional and local level. In the aftermath of Storm Arwen, we will review the preparations and response to ensure we learn from this most exceptional storm.”

Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said Storm Barra’s wind gusts and impacts “will be a notch down compared to Arwen”, which led to widespread power cuts on November 26 – some of which have not yet been restored.

There are concerns that gale-force winds on Tuesday could make it more difficult for engineers to reconnect homes, though spokesman Stephen Dixon said winds would “gradually weaken” as they move east and should have petered out by Thursday.

Following a call with the boss of Northern Powergrid, Phil Jones, the Prime Minister tweeted he had “asked for assurances that the energy supply companies were putting in place measures to limit any potential further disruption to households as a result of Storm Barra”.

The energy minister, Greg Hands, said on Monday it was “completely unacceptable” that around 1600 households were still without power.

Labour accused the UK Government of treating people in Scotland and the north of England as “second-class citizens”.

Residents in the affected areas told PA they were losing hope and feeling “fed up and angry” as they faced an 11th night without electricity.

A deadline set last Wednesday to restore power supply to all properties by the end of the week was missed.