SCOTLAND is set to be hit with high winds and periods of torrential rain as a spell of bad weather blows in from the Atlantic.

The Met office said that most areas will see gusts of up to 60mph during the weekend, accompanied by heavy downpours at frequent intervals.

Snow will also fall on high ground as the winter arrives in earnest.

Forecasters said that the north of the UK would escape the worst of the bad weather, with yellow warnings issued for much of England.

However, Scots have still been warned to expect hazardous driving conditions and plummeting temperatures.

A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: "From Saturday onwards it's going to be very windy and quite wet, lasting until Monday.

"The wet and windy weather is going to be reasonably widespread and we expect that snow will lie as low as 400 metres in some northern areas.

"We're not classifying it as a storm, but it will be fairly unpleasant. But not unusual for this time of year, I'm afraid."

Meanwhile, bookmakers have slashed the odds of Scotland seeing a White Christmas this year following the recent cold snap.

Ladbrokes have consequently cut the odds for a dusting of snow on December 25th north of the border and say that Aberdeen and Inverness are the most fancied cites to receive a flurry at just 7/4 apiece, whilst Edinburgh and Glasgow aren't far behind with odds of 2/1 each.

David Macdonald of Ladbrokes said: "Scotland has seen some substantial White Christmases in the past, and if the early money's on the nose then we'll see a snow-filled December 25th."