Scotland has been placed on storm warning as it prepares for Christmas, with the north set to be hit by 90mph winds.
The Met Office has issued a severe amber storm warning to last from midday on December 23 until 6am on Christmas Eve.
“Be prepared” weather warnings are in place for Orkney and Shetland, the Highlands and Islands, Grampian and Strathclyde. The amber warning will follow two days of yellow “be aware” weather warnings to begin at 6am on December 21 and last until 6pm on December 22.
The Met Office said that Storm Barbara’s arrival could damage structures and overhead wires in the north of Scotland, with lightning also set to join snow in the weather mix.
A spokeswoman said: “We have got two different weather systems. For the first one, we have a yellow weather warning and we are looking at wind gusts of up to 55mph. We could also have 5cm to 10cm of snow over higher ground.
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“There’s also some lightning associated with that and, on untreated surfaces, there will also be a risk of ice in some areas.
“That comes to an end at 6pm on Thursday before an amber warning comes into place with isolated gusts of up to 90mph. The warning lasts until 6am on Christmas Eve.
“The unsettled conditions look set to continue into Christmas Day, but it won’t be caused by Storm Barbara, which should have left by then.”
Forecasters said that after December 26 the weather would improve.
“It looks like it’s going to be unsettled over the weekend, but going into Boxing Day it should be milder,” the spokeswoman said. Forecasters said that travel and ferry services could be disrupted, and the ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne said that 21 of its 26 routes had already been affected.
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Drew Collier, operations director at Caledonian MacBrayne, advised passengers to visit the company’s website or follow its Twitter feed for the latest information.
Based on the present forecast, disruption to Scotland’s transport network, as well as restrictions on road bridges and cancellations at airports, are also expected.
Humza Yousaf, the transport minister, said: “Our national traffic control centre will be operational across the period with our multi-agency response team active on the days leading up to Christmas.
“Ferries are particularly susceptible to disruption due to high winds, and we may also see some disruption to flights. Those planning to fly or use ferries this festive period should check with their operators for the latest information and consider the forecast as part of their plans.”
Network Rail and ScotRail are also prepared for bad weather, with information on travel arrangements being posted on their websites over the festive period.