Yellow weather warning for gales in the Highlands issued by Met Office as Storm Kathleen nears
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Storm Kathleen’s gales have sparked a new Met Office weather warning for high winds in Wester Ross and western and northern Sutherland.
The weather agency issued a yellow warning this morning which will come into force on Sunday as Storm Kathleen continues its slow move north and eastwards.
Separate yellow warnings for gales in the Irish Sea and southern parts of Scotland are already in force on Saturday, and the warning area will shift north into the Highlands as we head into Sunday.
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The new warning will be in force from 9am on Sunday until 3pm the same day. The area covered by the alert includes all of the Outer Hebrides, Skye, Raasay, the Small Isles, Coll, Tiree, Lochalsh, Wester Ross, western Sutherland and on to the north coast from Cape Wrath to the eastern shores of Loch Eriboll.
It extends inland as far east as Loch Shin but forecasters are warning of strong winds widely across the Highlands as the weekend develops, so people living in other parts of the region outside the warning area should also take care when out and about or travelling.
Announcing the new yellow warning for wind, a Met Office spokesperson said: “Southerly winds are expected to strengthen to give gusts close to or just above 60 mph later on Sunday morning onwards into the early afternoon.
“During the course of the afternoon winds will veer southwesterly and the strength of gusts will start to ease a little. Windy weather will be accompanied by blustery, squally showers and rain.”
The warning comes as Storm Kathleen’s imminent arrival has already begun to cause disruption in the region. Numerous ferry sailings were cancelled on Saturday with CalMac warning of the possibility of further cancellations on Sunday - something which now looks more likely after the new Met Office warning was issued.
Sepa has also issued flood alerts for Wester Ross, Sutherland and Caithness for Sunday, with coastal areas most at risk.
