Pre-Christmas travellers face yellow weather alert as 80mph winds to hit Scotland this weekend

Potential disruption faces travellers over the busy pre-Christmas weekend after weather warnings were issued for both Saturday and Sunday, with winds forecast to gust up to 80mph and the risk of snow and ice.

However, the Met Office pretty much ruled out a White Christmas with “exceptionally mild” weather forecast for parts of Scotland on Christmas Day of around 10C higher than average.

Transport Scotland said road, rail, air and ferries were all likely to be affected by strong winds over the weekend, with service cancellations, restrictions on bridges and longer journey times.

Transport Scotland said rail passengers could be among those disrupted | Getty Images

The body also warned of the risk of fallen trees, damage to buildings and power cuts as tens of thousands of people make festive journeys over the next few days.

The strongest winds are expected to hit the north of Scotland, including Sutherland and Caithness, Orkney, Lewis, Harris and North Uist, from 7am on Saturday.

A Met Office yellow warning said “very strong westerly winds are expected to develop through the course of Saturday in association with a deep area of low pressure, with gusts of 65-75mph expected”.

“There is a small chance that gusts in excess of 80mph could occur across this region,” the warning stated. “Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard, especially in respect to causeways.

“A busier-than-usual travel period in the run up to Christmas is also a factor, which may result in an increased chance of impacts.”

A separate yellow wind warning for Saturday for the rest of Scotland apart from Shetland, and for northern England and parts of Northern Ireland, said strong westerly winds were expected to gust to 50-60 mph, with a small chance of them reaching 70mph around some coasts and over high ground.

The agency added: “Frequent blustery showers will also be a feature on Saturday and may merge into a longer spell of rain for a time in the far north and north west.

“Those showers could turn to snow on the hills in the north west of Scotland on Saturday evening, and then overnight and into Sunday. This chance of wintry showers extends to Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England.

“Snow will be focused over hills, where several centimetres may fall, but some sleet, snow and hail may fall to quite low levels for a time, bringing possible icy conditions by Sunday morning.”

A further yellow warning from midnight to 9pm on Sunday for the whole of Scotland, apart from Orkney and Shetland, along with northern England and the western half of the rest of the UK, will involve strong and gusty north westerly winds.

The Met Office said gusts of 50-60mph were expected widely, and 70mph around some exposed coasts and hills, especially in the north and west.

The forecaster said squally showers were also likely, with hail and thunder possible, and dangerous coastal conditions because of large waves.

However, it said conditions would turn exceptionally mild in the run up to Christmas Day.

Winds are expected to ease with some brightness in the east on Monday, before cloud and rain move in and an increase in temperatures.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Rebekah Hicks, said: “We’ll start to see high pressure to the south of the UK bringing in more settled and much milder conditions from Christmas Eve.

“Christmas Day will be cloudy for most, although some eastern areas of the UK, most likely eastern Scotland, may see some clear or sunny spells.

“We could see some drizzle across hills in the west, and some more persistent rain is possible for north west Scotland but overall, it will be a fairy cloudy, nondescript day.

“Conditions on Christmas Day and Boxing Day look to be exceptionally mild for the time of year, especially in the north.

“East and north east Scotland, for example, could see overnight temperatures 10C above average on Christmas morning.”

Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “We know the transport network is busier than usual at this time of year, particularly over the last weekend before Christmas, as people travel to spend time with their loved ones.

LISA FERGUSON

“If you’re driving, make sure your vehicle is winter ready and follow any Police Scotland travel advice.

“Traffic Scotland provides up-to-date travel information on the trunk road network through its website, X account and internet radio broadcasts.

“The same advice goes for other modes of transport – if you are planning to travel by rail, air or ferry, stay in contact with your operator for the latest service information.”

Ms Hyslop said salt barns were filled and more than 240 gritters were ready for deployment from depots around the country.

Travel trade organisation Abta said an estimated four million people in the UK were preparing to spend the Christmas and new year period overseas.

The organisation said Sunday would be the busiest day for departures between Friday and January 2, with Christmas Day the quietest.

Friday was expected to be the UK’s busiest day on the roads for festive travel, with the AA estimating 23.7 million journeys were planned for the day.

The M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow was identified among likely congestion hotspots.