Thousands of people have had their Christmas travel plans thrown into chaos as the north prepares to be battered by Storm Barbara.
The Met Office yesterday issued a weather warning as forecasters predicted winds of up to 90mph at the height of the storm on Friday.
A yellow warning for wind is in place today and tomorrow, which will increase to an amber alert for Friday and Christmas Eve across much of the Highlands and parts of Grampian.
Ferry and airline operators warned of disruption to services – with one “strongly” recommending passengers reconsider plans to travel on December 23 or 24.
Energy companies were also on standby for possible power cuts as lightning, slush and snow are also expected.
A Met Office spokesman said: “We have got two different weather systems. For the first one, we have a yellow weather warning and we are looking at wind gusts of up to 55mph.
“We could also have 5cm to 10cm of snow over higher ground and there’s also some lightning associated with that and, on untreated surfaces, there will also be a risk of ice in some areas.
“That comes to an end at 6pm on Thursday before an amber warning comes into place with isolated gusts of up to 90mph. The warning lasts until 6am on Christmas Eve.
“The unsettled conditions look set to continue into Christmas Day.”
Chris Tubbs, deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office, added: “Storm Barbara is forecast to form in the west Atlantic on Wednesday and will pass close to the north-west of the UK during Friday, bringing very strong winds and heavy rain.
“This brings the potential for some structural damage, disruption to power supplies and travel, with restrictions on bridges and disruption to ferries likely.”
A spokeswoman for NorthLink, which runs lifeline services to the northern isles, said: “Customers should review their current booking arrangements in line with the information provided.
“We would strongly recommend that any passenger booked for travel on December 23 or 24 consider alternative travel arrangements.”
Airline Loganair said: “If the forecasts materialise, it may cause disruption to our flights.”
Drew Collier, operations director at ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne, said: “The west of Scotland is facing storms and high winds in the run-up to Christmas and the start of the following week.
“We would advise anyone planning to travel by ferry over the holiday period to take this into account and plan accordingly.”
The Met Office also said it could not rule out a white Christmas – but added that it was unlikely.
A taste of what is to come was experienced yesterday, with giant waves of nearly 36ft high were recorded off the Outer Hebrides.
High wind warnings were in place on the Skye, Kessock and Dornoch bridges, and many ferry sailings cancelled as the storm started building.
CalMac was forced to cancel ferries from Oban to Coll, Tiree and Mull. Sailings between Mallaig to Lochboisdale, Armadale and the Small Isles were also off, with many more routes operating at a disrupted timetable.
More than 650 homes in the Western Isles were affected by power cuts, with weather causing faults in South Lochs and Uig in Lewis, Grimsay in North Uist, and villages in North Harris.
Transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “Our National Traffic Control Centre will be operational across the period with our multi-agency response team active on the days leading up to Christmas.”
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks director of customer operations, Dale Cargill, said: “We have frontline and support staff on standby and if there is damage to our network, our teams will be well-placed to get power restored to our customers as quickly and safely as possible.”
