Schools and nurseries have shut after the Met Office issued a 'danger to life' alert.
Forecasters have placed a yellow warning for wind across the whole of Scotland today, wirth the worst of the weather expected in the north.
Gales are anticipated across much of the country, with some areas experiencing gusts of up to 85mph.
Forecasters have warned the winds could lead to flying debris and other damage.
The warning in the north of the country is in place from 5am today until 7pm.
The strength of the wind will continue to increase this morning, with warnings out across the north of the UK
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 31, 2024
Gusts of 60 to 80mph are likely across northern Scotland in particular
Stay #WeatherAware ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/zsjQyrVxXE
The alert across northern areas covers Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands, Orkney, and Shetland.
Gusts of 65-75mph are likely, with a few places perhaps seeing gusts of up to 85mph at times
READ MORE: What is the highest wind speed recorded in Scotland and the UK?
The northwest of Scotland will also see heavy rain especially during the morning and in the early afternoon.
For the rest of the country, gusts of 45 to 55mph are expected widely, with a few places, most likely hills and coastal areas, likely to see gusts up to 65mph.
It is in place from 9am until 5pm.
And commuters are being warned they face delays on roads, rail, ferry, and air services due to the severe gusts.
Western Isles Coucil said: "All Comhairle schools and nurseries will be closed to pupils and staff on Wednesday 31 January due to the strength and sustained nature of the wind forecast.
"Schools are expected to reopen as normal on Thursday, February 1."
READ MORE: Kinlochewe sets UK record for January temperature
Other councils are understood to be waiting until tomorrow before making a decision on whether to open.
It comes as the country is still clearing up after Storms Isha and Jocelyn swept through, uprooting trees, paralysing rail services, and cutting power to more than 100,000 homes.
The recent bad weather saw James ‘Jimmy’ Johnstone, from Grangemouth, die after a car crashed into a fallen tree in Falkirk.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel