'Weather bomb' forecast sparks 80mph gale warning from Met Office for Moray, Highlands and all of western Scotland
Forecasts for a 'weather bomb' caused by an extremely fast jet stream have sparked warnings of 80mph gales for Moray and the Highlands.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for strong winds when a deep area of low pressure passes close to the UK at the back end of the week.
Gusts of up to 80 mph are being forecast in the Highlands and Moray.
The storm will be fuelled by extremely fast jet steam winds high in the upper atmosphere, which could reach up to 275mph.
Although nothing like those speeds will be experienced by us, when the jet stream is very strong it can inject a lot of energy into our weather and cause areas of low pressure to deepen rapidly. When this happens, it is referred to by forecasters as rapid cyclogenesis or a 'weather bomb', with wind speeds picking up very swiftly over a very short period of time.
The new warning comes into force just after midnight on Friday morning, and will remain in place until 5pm on Saturday.
A spokesperson said: "A deep area of low pressure is expected to pass close to or across the northwest of the UK on Friday and Saturday.
"It will bring a spell of very strong south-easterly to south-westerly winds with gusts reaching 50-60 mph inland and 70-80 mph along coasts (and perhaps higher than this in a few locations). The wind strength will gradually ease through Saturday from the south."
The area covered by the alert includes all of the Hebrides, Orkney Caithness, Sutherland, Ross-shire, Inverness-shire and extends east as far as Forres in Moray, Kingussie and Loch Tay. It extends south as far as the Solway Firth and includes all of western Scotland, as well as Northern Ireland.
For the latest updates visit https://weather.metoffice.gov.uk/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings.
As a reader, we know the value you place on trusted local journalism. At The Northern Scot we are committed to delivering the very best coverage from communities right across our area, and we can only do this with the support of our readers. By becoming a subscriber you not only support us in this mission, you also unlock a whole host of benefits, including unlimited access to our website and digital editions of all our weekly newspapers. You can find out more about subscriptions here.
Use the promo code PHILIPMURRAY to get a year of unlimited digital access for just £10 - we really appreciate your support. Thank you.