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| Wind warnings for Christmas Eve in Scotland upgraded | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The Met Office has upgraded its warnings for high winds across large areas of northern and western Scotland during Christmas Eve. | |
| Amber 'be prepared' weather warnings now cover the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the north west Highlands, Argyll and Bute, Orkney and Shetland. | |
| The rest of the country is covered by less serious yellow 'be aware' warnings. | |
| The public has been told to prepare for "significant" travel disruption. | |
| Power cuts are also possible, the Met Office said. | |
| Forecasters said widespread gales were likely across the country, with gusts of 65mph to 75 mph in many areas. | |
| 'Power supplies' | |
| But storm-force gusts of 80mph to 90 mph are also possible, particularly towards the north west of the country later in the day, where there will also be frequent wintry showers. | |
| The Met Office amber warning for the period 16:00 to 23:59 on 24 December said: "A deep depression tracking north, to the west of Scotland, will bring a period of storm-force winds with gusts 80mph to 90 mph later on Tuesday, to affect western Scotland and then into the Northern Isles. | |
| "The public should be prepared for disruption, particularly to travel, as well as interruption to power supplies." | |
| The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has a number of flood warnings in place in Tayside, as well as several lesser flood alerts in central Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders. | The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has a number of flood warnings in place in Tayside, as well as several lesser flood alerts in central Scotland, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders. |
| Stein Connelly, operator manager for Traffic Scotland, urged those travelling for the festive season to take the weather conditions into account when planning their journeys. | |
| He added: "The Met Office is telling us that the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the north west Highlands and the Northern Isles will be particularly badly affected by the winds and we would remind people that bridges in these areas may have to close at some points during the day. | |
| "The rest of the country will experience some strong winds and this could lead to some isolated problems on the roads. | |
| "The message, as always, is to make sure you have as much information as possible before starting your journey and to consider when you travel." | |
| Ferry operator CalMac said anyone intending to travel on its services over the holiday period should be as flexible as possible when planning their journeys. | |
| A spokesman said: "We have been advised that there will be prolonged periods of severe weather hitting Scotland over the next couple of weeks including the Christmas and New Year holiday period. As a result our services may experience cancellations and/or disruptions. | |
| "Due to the impact of this weather it is likely that our timetables and sailings will change at very short notice as we endeavour to maintain lifeline services. | |
| "We would therefore ask customers to check the website for the latest information and be prepared to be flexible if at all possible. This may mean delays but also the possibility of some sailings being earlier than timetabled. | |
| "We fully appreciate that these disruptions will be inconvenient but the safety of passengers, crew and ships is our number one priority." |