Storm Gerrit to bring gale force winds to the Highlands and many other parts of Scotland
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Gales force winds of up to 80mph are set to batter parts of the Highlands after the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for the region ahead of the arrival of Storm Gerrit.
The imminent arrival of the storm, which was named on Boxing Day and will hit many parts early on Wednesday morning, sparked the issuing of the yellow warning – which runs from 3am on December 27 until the end of the same day.
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The whole of Scotland north of the central belt, bar Shetland, is covered by the alert, which will be accompanied by a separate, already issued, warning for rain and snow over large parts of the Highlands.
The area covered by that latter alert was also extended this morning to include some western parts of the Highlands. The extended area now includes much of Sutherland, having earlier only applied to the east. Caithness, Ross-shire, Inverness, the Great Glen and Cairngorms are also covered by that latter warning,
Commenting on the wind warning, a Met Office spokesperson said: "Strong east or southeasterly winds will affect the warning area during Wednesday. Initially developing in the south of the region, these strong winds will gradually spread further north, becoming confined to Orkney by the end of the day.
"Over the south of the warning area gusts are likely to reach 50-60 mph, especially along coasts and to the west of high ground, and perhaps as high as 70 mph in a few locations.
"The winds are expected to strengthen as they spread across the north of the warning area, with gusts reaching 60-70 mph widely and perhaps as much as 80 mph along some northern coasts. Winds will be particularly gusty across and to the west of high ground. Additional hazards for parts of the area include heavy rain and snowfall, covered by a separate warning."
