A large area of the north west was battening down the hatches with wind speeds of up to 75mph predicted today.
The Met Office has a wind weather warning in place for the area, which is live from 5am until 9pm.
Disruption on roads, trains and ferries is expected, with the public being advised not to walk close to the sea.
Cairngorm Mountain ski resort was already experiencing “extremely high” wind yesterday and took the decision to close again today.
Luke Miall, meteorologist for the Met Office, said: “We have got a deep area of low pressure pushing up towards Iceland that’s giving a really strong deluge of winds into north west Scotland as we go through the day.
“Widely there will be gusts of 50-60mph but in some areas along the coast or in the higher ground in the Highlands there will be gusts of 70-75mph.
“In terms of impact, these are damaging wind gusts. There is likely to be some structural damage to homes and businesses.
“Given the large winds at the coast, the advice to the public is to avoid being too near the sea.
“There is potential for delays to transport, particularly high-sided vehicles, trains, buses and ferries.
“There is a risk there could be power outages due to the wind blowing down pylons.”
He said the wind will drop as the week continues, picking up a bit on Friday for a wet and windy weekend.
Wind restrictions, expected to continue today, were in place on Highland bridges.
Ferry sailings between Oban and Barra, Coll, Colonsay, Tiree and Islay were cancelled yesterday, with many more routes experiencing disruption.
Sailings between North Uist and Harris were also off.
Operator CalMac warned that there would be more cancellations on routes today, with continued disruption on other routes.
Rail services between Inverness and the central belt were running to a disrupted time table yesterday after a person was struck by a train.
A ScotRail spokesman said: “Some services have been subject to delay and alteration today. Sadly, this is due to a person being struck by a train.
“Anyone affected by this incident can contact Samaritans for free of charge, any time, from any phone, on 116 123.”
Meanwhile, two school buildings in the Highlands were closed due to a shortage of power, water and heating yesterday.
The schools affected include Tarradale Primary, Strathconon Primary and Strathconon Nursery in the Muir of Ord area.
A total of 255 pupils were off due to the ongoing problems.
