Dozens of schools closed early and homes were left without power as Storm Barbara battered the Highlands and islands yesterday.
And Storm Conor will hit on Christmas Day.
The Western Isles felt the brunt of the high winds, with 13,000 people in Lewis and Harris losing power for more than an hour after a main electricity line was knocked out by lightning at 2pm.
Wind gusts reached 91.5mph on the Scalpay Bridge in the afternoon, according to Western Isles Council.
The Met Office also revealed that an amber “be prepared” warning has been issued for Boxing Day for the north coast and Orkney and Shetland.
A spokeswoman added: “Storm Conor will likely arrive later on Christmas Day. The storm will continue into Boxing Day and the strongest winds will be felt in locations on the north and west coast. An amber warning for high winds will be in place from 8am until 4pm on Boxing Day. We can expect gusts of 70-80mph, even touching 90mph in places.”
Yesterday Storm Barbara caused disruption at sea, in the air and on the ground.
A number of Loganair flights had been rescheduled for earlier in the day but delays set in.
The last Stornoway to Glasgow service was cancelled in both directions and all Barra flights were cancelled.
Caitlin Davis, 17, turned up at Stornoway airport looking for news over plane delays between Glasgow and Lewis.
Her gran, Cathy Carolan, was hoping to catch what would be the last plane of the day from the central belt but rescheduled flights were hampered by bad weather.
The teenager said: “I just want my granny with me for Christmas. She’s 82 years old, lives in Kilmarnock and we don’t get to see her very often.
“It will be really nice to have her with us for Christmas.
“My mum is upset – she’s really worried she’s not going to get up to the island.”
Meanwhile at Inverness Airport the 5.20pm Loganair flight to Kirkwall was cancelled, as was the 4.50pm Sumburgh to Inverness flight.
Trains between Inverness and Kyle were also cancelled – apart from two early morning services – and Scotrail cancelled replacement buses due to “road conditions”, according to a social media announcement.
And thousands of pupils in the north got an extra day’s Christmas break with many schools closed as a precaution because of the approaching Storm Barbara.
In Highland, 14 of the region’s 29 secondary schools were closed in the morning along with 47 of the 173 primary schools, and 35 nursery schools. Pupils using buses at Culloden Academy were sent home early in the afternoon.
In Argyll and Bute, Luing and Rothesay Joint Campus was closed. Schools in the Western Isles and on Orkney broke up for Christmas on Wednesday and Shetland schools closed for the festive break on Thursday.
A Met Office amber “be prepared” alert for high winds lasted from noon yesterday until midnight – and a yellow “be aware” warning remains in place until 9pm tonight.
Among the fiercest gusts recorded by the Met Office were 75mph in South Uist and 70mph in Stornoway, and 70mph in Sella Ness in Shetland.
A yellow warning for snow and ice was also issued for the Highlands and Orkney and Shetland between 5pm last night until noon today.
Environment agency Sepa also issued flood alerts for Caithness and Sutherland, Orkney, Shetland, Skye and Lochaber and the Western Isles yesterday – but the fire service said there were no callouts.
All CalMac ferries to the Western Isles were cancelled yesterday but the ferry operator said that customers heeded their advice and travelled in the days before. Further disruption is expected in the coming days.
