Met Office issues severe weather warning for Scotland

The amber alert, which is valid until midnight tonight, warns: "Very strong winds will affect northern Britain on Wednesday, including the populated Central Lowlands of Scotland. Gusts of 60 to 70 mph are expected, with 80 to 90 mph possible in exposed coastal areas of the west.

"The public should be aware that this could cause disruption to transport."

The areas affected by the amber warning are Strathclyde, the Highlands, Central Scotland, Tayside & Fife, South West Scotland and the Lothian Borders as well as Northern Ireland.

The forecast predicts the Atlantic storm blast will have passed by tomorrow morning.

Earlier this month, wind gusts of 165 mph were measured at the summit of Cairngorm as the worst storm in 15 years battered Scotland.

But the good news is New Year's Eve looks to be mainly dry and unusually warm with outbreaks of rain only forecast for parts of the North West of England, Scotland and the far South West and south Wales.