Strong winds are set to batter parts of Scotland as Storm Ellen passes over from Ireland later today.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind between 8pm on Wednesday to 4am on Friday, August 21.
Forecasters are anticipating gusts of up to 65mph to hit parts of the Highlands, south west Scotland, Lothian Borders and Strathclyde during that period.
The conditions could cause heavy disruption on the roads and on public transport while some communities may suffer power cuts.
High gusts are said to be travelling east from Ireland, which is preparing for “severe and damaging winds” tonight.
Met Èireann, which has named the weather front Storm Ellen, is likely to bring heavy rainfall along with the high winds for most of Ireland.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “A spell of strong southerly winds are expected to develop on Wednesday night across southwest England and move north to affect much of the western United Kingdom through the early hours of Thursday morning.
“Whilst there remains some uncertainty in the exact track of the low, gusts of 55 mph are possible inland, with 65 mph possible around coasts and hills.
“Whilst winds may temporarily ease during Thursday morning, a band of heavy rain is likely to move east late Thursday afternoon and overnight accompanied by similarly strong, perhaps squally winds.”
A further warning has also been issued for south West Scotland and Lothian Borders between 4am and 6pm on Friday.
The second bout of high winds could bring gusts as high as 65mph in some areas of the country.
The Met Office says: “Strong southwesterly winds are expected to develop across much of England, Wales and southern Scotland during Friday.
"Wind gusts of 45-50 mph are expected fairly widely inland with gusts of 55-60 mph possible around coasts and over hills.
"Winds are then expected to gradually ease during late afternoon and evening."
They are both the latest weather warning issued by the Met Office after huge thunderstorms battered Scotland last week.
Some eastern parts saw ‘biblical’ floods after around 80-90mm of rain fell in just a few hours.
