Travel was disrupted across the Highlands and Islands yesterday as severe gales and heavy rain caused problems on land and at sea.
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne was hit hard by the stormy conditions, with cancellations on 22 of its 26 routes at some point during the day.
Motorists coming in and out of Inverness were also warned to take care as the southwesterly winds caused the Kessock Bridge to be closed to high sided vehicles late in the afternoon.
The Skye Bridge had closed on the same terms earlier in the afternoon and motorists on the A9 at Dornoch Bridge were also warned by Traffic Scotland to drive with caution.
The latest band of Atlantic weather to batter the UK has been labelled by the Met Office as Storm Desmond, which is the fourth storm of the season.
Yesterday southwesterly winds reached gusts of 45-55 mph across much of the region and peaked at 80mph in the Western Isles and northwest Sutherland.
The Furnicular Railway at Cairngorm mountain was also closed at about 1pm yesterday due to wind speeds of 65mph and gusts of 89mph.
A Met Office severe weather warning for wind and rain will remain in place today.
Amber flood alerts are also in place for Wester Ross, Skye and Lochaber, with a heavy period of sustained rainfall causing rivers and other watercourses to rise, creating a risk to motorists.
Yesterday the 2pm and 5.30pm passenger sailings between Ullapool and Stornoway were cancelled, as were all freight sailings. Today’s 7am and 10.30am passenger sailings may also be disrupted.
Ferries from Oban to Mull were cancelled and today’s 6:45am sailing has also been cancelled, with the 8am to go ahead subject to weather.
Sailings to Harris, North Uist, Skye, Eriskay, Iona and Gigha, Colonsay, Ardnamurchan, Arran, Cowal and Kintyre, Islay, Raasay, Barra, South Uist and the Small Isles were also cancelled.
All of this morning’s sailings are subject to adverse weather. All NorthLink Ferry routes were also affected by delays.
A Met Office spokeswoman said: “Please be aware of the likelihood of travel disruption on roads and ferry routes. Winds may be strong enough to bring down trees and perhaps cause damage to buildings and other structures.
“Outbreaks of rain will become persistent and heavy at times on Friday night and will last through Saturday, before clearing to the south early on Sunday.
“As is has been raining so much and because the ground is already saturated, there could be some medium level disruption to travel.”