Storm Floris warnings upgraded by Met Office to amber level for the Highlands, Moray, Aberdeenshire, Hebrides and south into the central belt after 90mph gusts forecast
Storm Floris weather warnings for the Highlands have been upgraded to amber - with 80 to 90mph gusts “likely” on “exposed coasts, hills and bridges”.
The Met Office upgraded its existing weather warning on Sunday morning, ahead of Storm Floris’s arrival on Monday.
Explaining the heightened alert status, a Met Office spokesperson said: “Storm Floris will bring a spell of unusually strong west or north-westerly winds to much of Scotland during Monday.
“Gusts of 50 to 70mph are expected for many parts, and are likely to reach 80 to 90mph on some exposed coasts, hills and bridges.
“Western coastal areas will see the highest gusts between late morning and early afternoon, the strongest winds then transferring to north-eastern Scotland by late afternoon/early evening.”
The raised alert level, which applies on Monday from 10am to 10pm, from covers all of mainland Scotland north of the central belt, as well as all of the Outer Hebrides, and all of the Inner Hebrides north of Jura.
People living in affected areas have already been warned to expect possible power outages, with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) raising its alert level on Saturday as it brought more resources online to deal with potential damage to its network.
An existing yellow warning remains in place for all other parts of Scotland, as well as all of Northern Ireland, much of northern England, and north Wales.
This existing warning, which also applies in the Highlands before the amber alert kicks in, runs from 6am on Monday until 11.59pm on the same day.