Scotland is braced for more severe weather today with warnings of gale-force winds and flooding in the north and west.

Gusts could reach more than 80mph in some exposed areas as a storm sweeps past the country, the Met Office said.

Yellow "be aware" warnings of high winds are in place for the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland and Argyll and Bute.

Gales and large waves could result in flooding at high tide along the west coast, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said.

It has put flood alerts - warning of the possibility of flooding - in place for coastal areas in the north and west.

Several flood warnings - indicating that flooding is expected - are also in force for parts of Tayside along the rivers Earn and Lyon.

Heavy rain was expected to continue to fall until early this morning in the area and low-lying land could be at risk, Sepa said.

John Griffiths, forecaster for MeteoGroup, aid an area of low pressure was moving across northern parts of Scotland towards Iceland.

He said: ''It's going to be pretty windy again today with rain moving in again in the afternoon into most areas.

''There will be quite severe gales in northern parts of Scotland and on the western coast throughout Sunday as the low pressure swings right past Scotland.''

Stormy conditions caused widespread disruption throughout the country yesterday.

Wind speeds of 66mph were recorded at Inverbervie in Aberdeenshire and Eskdalemuir in Dumfries and Galloway, while a gust of 65mph hit South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

On higher ground, wind speeds reached 102mph on the Applecross peninsula in Wester Ross and 111mph at Tomintoul in the Cairngorms National Park.

Glasgow and Edinburgh were buffeted by gusts of up to 47mph, temporarily closing Christmas attractions in the capital including the Big Wheel in Princes Street Gardens.

Several football fixtures were called off, including a match between Stenhousemuir and Rangers which was cancelled for safety reasons after structural damage to one of the stands at Ochilview Park in Stenhousemuir.

Passengers at Edinburgh Airport faced disruption to flights, while flooding and problems with overhead wires affected some ScotRail lines and many Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services on the west coast were cancelled or delayed.

At the height of the storm the Forth, Tay and Skye road bridges were closed to high sided vehicles.

Drivers were urged to take care as roads across the country were affected by flooding, surface water and fallen trees.

The severe weather comes in the wake of a storm that battered the country with winds of up to 142mph earlier this month.

A lorry driver died, thousands of homes were left without power and commuters faced major travel disruption on December 5.