HOLIDAYMAKERS heading south for some respite from the dismal July weather face fresh warnings - unseasonably strong winds battering the UK.
As the summer’s wild and stormy weather puts 2015 on track to be the windiest year for over 20 years, gales of more than 50mph are predicted for some coastal areas of Britain.
Northerly winds have been picking up, with gusts up to 40mph hitting parts of Scotland's east coast, remaining blustery until towards the weekend.
Meanwhile, there has been a forecast for overnight frost in parts of Scotland on Wednesday.
And as we move towards August at the weekend the weather is set to be "changeable", the Met Office has said.
Forecaster Dean Hall said: "We will likely have more unsettled weather with low pressure moving in from the Atlantic. The weather will be changeable, but temperatures are certainly below average for this time of year."
There have already been some high-profile casualties. The Mey Highland Games in Caithness on Saturday, due to be attended by Prince Charles in honour of the Queen Mother, has been cancelled.
A waterlogged course also means a meeting planned for Perth Racecourse today has been abandoned, with events later in the day also scrapped and inspections taking place to see if anything can be staged for the rest of the week.
Figures are also showing the month could turn out to be one of Scotland’s wettest Julys, with 72 per cent of the expected monthly rainfall landing in the first 15 days.
Official records show there have been only eight calm days since the start of the year, with none in the past three months.
The reason for one of the poorest summers in recent times is the jet stream, which steers low pressure systems and their wet and windy weather across the Atlantic.
During summer it usually lies to the north of Scotland, sending storms to Iceland or Norway but if it lies across or just south of the UK the country is hit with colder, wetter and windier weather.
After the next couple of days drier weather and sunny spells are expected in many parts, with skies beginning to clear from Thursday. Temperatures will rise as the northerly wind drops away, though highs are not expected to exceed a below-average 17C.
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