Motorists faced tailbacks of up to five miles as heavy snow and plummeting temper-
atures brought traffic to a standstill during the morning rush-hour.
About two inches of snow fell on the outskirts of the Capital in just two hours this morning from 6am, adding to an inch of overnight snow and sub-zero temperatures.
The conditions led to treacherous conditions on many roads, with massive tailbacks up to the Forth Bridge and around the city bypass.
Edinburgh Airport was closed for two hours before 9am as workers struggled to clear the runways.
A minor accident on the M8 near Livingston shortly before 7am escalated into a major incident as at least 30 more vehicles crashed at the scene. Two people were taken to hospital and the eastbound road was blocked near Junction 3.
Conditions were so bad that drivers abandoned their vehicles at the side of the road in Liberton, while commuters heading into the Capital from across the region reported some of the worst road conditions of the year.
The bad weather sparked travel chaos across Scotland for the second week running.
Police in Lothian and Borders, Fife, Tayside and Aberdeenshire warned motorists not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
The city centre escaped the worst of the snow, but some outlying areas of Lothian and the Borders saw six inches of snow.
Many roads across Scotland were passable only with care and gritters were working to clear routes.
Jack-knifed lorries in Fife led to the closures of stretches of the A914 to Freuchie and the A92 to Cupar.
The A93 and A939 were shut in Aberdeenshire because of heavy snow while the Spittal of Glenshee road in Tayside was also closed.
The Gogar Roundabout was passable only with care, with the poor conditions bringing rush-hour traffic to a standstill.
Lorries also jack-knifed in the Avon Gorge Road, near Armadale, West Lothian, blocking it completely. Police said drivers were faced with extreme conditions across the region this morning.
"The M8 Livingston road is treacherous, with ice and snow, as are many other outlying roads," a Lothian and Borders force spokesman said.
"Fortunately no one was seriously hurt in the crash this morning, but two people have been taken to hospital for treatment.
"There are a lot of places where roads are becoming impassable and drivers need to take great care.
"Out at Liberton a lot of the hilly roads have ice and snow on them, and there are drivers just abandoning their cars."
The city council and other local authorities said they had not been caught unawares and had been out gritting the roads to ensure drivers were safe.
Schools across the Lothians opened as normal despite the weather, although several were shut in Fife.
Frogston Road, Oxgangs Avenue and Drumbrae were all blocked up with traffic because of heavy snow.
At Edinburgh Airport, ten out-going flights were cancelled while workers fought to clear the runway, and nine inbound flights were hit.
An airport spokesman said the disruption would have a "major effect" on travel for the rest of the day, with flights from the airport facing delays of between 30 minutes and an hour.
"We will be working very hard with the airlines to try and reduce the effects of this, but it will have a major effect on travel," he said.
"The sheer volume of snow meant we could not clear the runways until it stopped.
"We would ask passengers to check in as normal. We are playing catch-up at the moment but we will get people to their destinations."
Edinburgh City Council said it had mounted a massive road clearing effort.
When the snow started falling just before 6am they had 43 staff and 16 gritters out on the streets. By 7.30am they had 118 staff, 23 gritters and eight mini tractors working on clearing the roads in and around the city.
West Lothian Council said road crews had worked throughout the night as heavy winter snowfall returned to the area.
"We had a full night-shift out last night and all primary routes were pre-gritted," said a council spokesman.
"Heavy snow started falling around 6am and all roads were covered within an hour.
"We had arranged for the day-shift to start work an hour earlier than normal at 6.30am
"Forecasters are predicting that snow will continue until around 1pm today."
Despite the adverse weather conditions schools across West Lothian opened as scheduled today.
In East Lothian gritters were out across the county, as temperatures were close to freezing, although the area escaped the worst of the snow.
The Met office issued a flash warning of heavy snow early this morning and advised motorists to take particular care around Edinburgh and the Lothians, suggesting any unnecessary journeys be delayed.
More snow is expected on Thursday. A Met Office spokesman said: "Over the next few days it will be mixed, with the weather easing up tomorrow, but more snow and sleet is expected on Thursday."
Trafficmaster, who carry out road surveillance for the AA, said that large queues of traffic had built up along the M8 and the city by-pass throughout the morning, although the worst had cleared by 10.30am.
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