Scotland weather: strong winds cause widespread travel disruption

HIGH winds have caused disruption in parts of Scotland with gusts of almost 70mph recorded.

Dark clouds gather overhead at Dunnet Bay in the Highlands of Scotland. Picture: PA

The Met Office has put in place a yellow “be aware” weather warning covering most of the country for Sunday, with winds expected to increase throughout the day.

A wind speed of 68mph was recorded at Loch Glascarnoch, near Garve in the Highlands, with speeds of up to 59mph in Tain.

A gust of 56mph was recorded on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides, with 55mph recorded in Aultbea in the north-west Highlands.

On higher ground, a gust of 115mph was recorded on the top of the Cairngorms.

Wind warnings or restrictions have been put in place on bridges including the A90 Forth Road Bridge, A87 Skye Bridge and A92 Tay Road Bridge.

The weather has also disrupted CalMac ferry sailings on the west coast, with some services cancelled or suspended.

Several events across the country have been cancelled, including the Foodies Festival in Edinburgh’s Inverleith Park and an annual raft race in Lossiemouth, Moray.

There had been fears the weather might impact on the Montrose Music Festival, where Canadian singer Bryan Adams is due to perform, but organisers said the event would go ahead.

Forecasters said the windy conditions were due to a relatively deep area of low pressure moving slowly eastwards between Scotland and Iceland.

The Met Office said: “The strongest winds are expected to be across northern and north-western Scotland, but some locally strong gusts are still possible even across south-eastern Scotland, particularly over and to the lee of hills.

“These strong winds will also generate very rough sea conditions near north and north-west Scotland.”

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