Scotland to be battered by 80mph winds as weather warnings issued

Scotland is set to be battered by winds up to 80mph towards the end of the week as the Met Office issued two weather warnings.

A yellow weather warning has been issued for the majority of Scotland on Friday, coming into effect from midday until midnight.

The Met Office said gusts are likely to reach 50mph to 60mph widely, but could reach 70mph to 80mph in coastal areas.

Delays to public transport are expected, with ferry, train and bus services likely to be disrupted.

Power cuts may occur and mobile phone service may be affected by winds, with the Met Office adding buildings may be damaged as tiles are blown from roofs.

The yellow warning issued for Saturday will extend to cover the majority of the UK and will come into effect from midnight until 6pm.

STV meteorologist Sean Batty said: “It’s been a while since we’ve experienced stormy conditions, and so far autumn has been pretty quiet. This week we go into a much more disturbed phase with periods of strong winds and some wintry weather for higher ground – again it’s been a while.

“There are two bouts of strong winds, one Wednesday evening and then again Friday through to Saturday. Winds will pick up on Wednesday afternoon in the north of the country with gusts around 60mph possible across Orkney the north Highlands and perhaps Lewis for a while before moving into the north east of the country. This spell of wind weather eases down into Thursday morning before we see the next spell developing on Friday.

“The winds on Friday will be stronger with a risk of gusts peaking at 70 to 80mph in the most exposed parts of the Northern Isles, north Highlands, and then later the Buchan area. Even through this is where the peak will be, the whole country will experience wild weather on Friday night into Saturday.

“As the storm system clears away this will bring stronger winds down the east coast for a time where gusts could reach 60-70mph early on Saturday.

“All the time we will be in colder air and with the wind added on it’ll feel near freezing in the north. Ice is also likely to be an issue on the highest routes in northern parts of the country too.

“While this is nothing out of the ordinary, it’s still going to be a shock after such a mild autumn.”