Like many in the north-east of Scotland, I have trudged through deep snow every single day of 2026 so far – it’s not exactly the start to the new year I was hoping for.

The white stuff started falling heavily on 1 January and it’s been a constant presence in our lives ever since.

It’s caused huge disruption. Hundreds of schools have been closed, many roads were impassable, and some people in rural areas have been snowed in for more than a week.

As north east Scotland reporter for the BBC news website, I’ve been covering the impact of the wintry weather while living with the effects in my own life.

Communities in the Aberdeenshire countryside have had a really tough time over the last 10 days – far worse than those of us in the city.

But this is probably the worst sustained period of heavy snow we have seen in Aberdeen for 15 years.

I spent Christmas – not a white one, ironically – and new year in Peterhead in Aberdeenshire.

The snow began on New Year’s Day.

I was starting back at work in Aberdeen on Monday, but rather than risk driving in the dark in tricky conditions that morning I came back down the road on the Sunday afternoon in daylight, during what appeared to be a slight weather window.

Between Peterhead and Ellon, even 30mph barely felt comfortable in the conditions. And then the main A90 for the final stretch to Aberdeen was down to one lane and I was never going at more than 50mph.

I decided there was more chance of parking at the office and walking home, but on arrival my car became stuck in deep snow.

It was pushed into a space with the help of two kind colleagues. It’s been there ever since.

The alarm was set for 06:45 on Monday and – dressed in a warm hooded jacket, scarf, gloves and sturdy boots – I set off at 07:30 to take photos. Cars were buried deep in snow.

It was meant to have been the return of schools, and the start of the working year for many.

But school closures meant the roads were incredibly quiet.

Many pupils – including my son in fifth year – have had exams postponed that were due to be held during the week.

Tuesday brought an Amber snow warning from the Met Office, just when it seemed like there might be some light at the end of the tunnel.

The first person I came across that morning was using a shovel to clear snow outside a business premises.

Later in the day, Aberdeenshire Council declared a “major incident” as the impact of the snow continued.

The local authority said it was looking at a “prolonged period of significant impact”, including people being cut off.

Declaring the major incident allowed it to escalate activity to respond to the weather by redeploying staff.

On the way home, I popped into a local shop for food. However many shelves and fridge sections were empty – especially bread, milk and vegetables.

Was it an indication of the struggle to get supplies through to the city or a result of panic buying? Possibly both.

It almost felt a little like the early days of Covid lockdown.

The last bag of scampi and some oven chips were mine. Maybe not my finest culinary moment but picking from the freezer section felt somehow appropriate.

The heavy thumps of snow falling from the roof during the night into Wednesday may have woken me up, but it was a welcome sign that a slight thaw may finally have been under way.

This was now day seven after all.

People were still using shovels to clear pavements, but it was now far more slushy rather than thick snow.

Roads were far clearer than they had been, and cars seemed to have far less snow on them than in recent days.

Awaking on Thursday morning, the prospect of a continued thaw proved to have been short-lived.

A fresh dumping of snow had re-coated the city’s streets, cars and rooftops.

I think this was the low point of the week, our hopes dashed.

However, I definitely cheered up when I bumped into a young family enjoying the snow.

Mum Esther watched on as Charlotte, two, Daniel, six, and nine-year-old Iona joyfully sledged down a slope. Daniel then hit me with a snowball. It’s the simple pleasures.

Friday was our ninth day in the snow, although there at least did not seem to have been any more overnight.

By this stage it felt like Groundhog Day.

However, I knew I was lucky compared to some. One radio colleague was snowed in for days in his Aberdeenshire village and had to work from home.

Neighbours helped each other with food and drink supplies.

And TV colleagues have had to deal with horrendous conditions out and about when filming in deep snow to reach communities that have been cut off.

On the now daily trudge to work through the snow and ice, I came across a mum and daughter scraping their car clear of heavy snow.

Steph and four-year-old Ellie were going for the teamwork approach, Steph with an orange shovel to shift the worst of the snow, and Ellie using a small scraper.

I’ve always loved photography since I was a young boy, so have enjoyed trying to capture eye-catching shots of the snow during the week.

The favourite image I have captured this week was taken in Aberdeen’s Victoria Park on Tuesday morning.

It was of a woman walking through the snow, framed by trees. I’d turned and taken it after she walked past me.

In the November and December of 2010, this area endured many consecutive days of deep snow, which again closed schools and caused major travel problems.

This has been as bad, if not worse.

Weather warnings are in place for Saturday and Sunday, but it seems there may be light at the end of the tunnel next week with milder temperatures forecast.

Would we want to go through anything like this this again anytime soon? Snow chance.