WINDS of more than 80mph battered parts of Scotland as Storm Pia threatened to bring chaos to pre-Christmas travel plans.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for wind, stretching north from Birmingham to the Shetland Islands and including Northern Ireland, remaining in place until 3pm on Thursday.
That had been brought forward from 9pm as the Met Office said the worst of the wind was expected to be in the morning, with conditions slowly easing.
Further warnings for snow and ice were issued coming into force at 3pm for Shetland and 9pm on Friday for much of the north of the country.
The yellow warning means journeys could be disrupted, there was the potential for power cuts and coastal routes could be affected by waves or spray.
Gusts of 81mph were recorded at Baltasound on Shetland, with gusts of more than 70mph recorded elsewhere in the North East of England.
National Rail reported that routes across Scotland, and parts of England and Wales were affected, and speed restrictions were in place on lines within the weather warning area.
People on social media reported their sleep had been disturbed by Storm Pia, not officially named by the Met Office, but given named status by the Danish authorities where it was expected to have an even greater impact than in the UK.
Schools in Shetland were closed on Thursday and more electricity network engineers were being brought in to deal with possible power cuts.
Oli Claydon, a Met Office spokesman, said while the winds will ease through the day, it will remain breezy.
As conditions improve in the UK, the storm will pass over into northern Europe, bringing strong winds to Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, he said.
Further weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued for Shetland and northern Scotland from Friday and into the weekend, with accumulations of 10-15cm on higher ground possible in the Highlands, before milder air brings rain on Saturday.
Scotland and northern England will also be hit by persistent rain and showers following Storm Pia.
Looking ahead to Christmas Day, there could be a “technical” White Christmas, with a “small chance” of snow falling on higher ground in Scotland.
But Claydon said: “This won’t be picture postcard snowy scenes.”
More widely, the picture for Christmas Day looked to be unsettled weather in the south of England, with showers in Northern Ireland and western Scotland, with northern England remaining dry.
