Overview

• The Met Office has amber wind alerts for parts of northern and western Scotland and Northern Ireland, with yellow warnings expanded widely and extended to cover all of the UK for wind on Saturday.
• Forecasters expect gusts of 60–70mph widely, reaching 95mph in exposed western Scotland, with some updates warning of brief 100mph peaks around Tiree, western Lochaber and Skye this evening.
• Heavy rain is a secondary hazard, with 30–50mm possible in 6–9 hours over western Scotland, increasing the risk of localised flooding.
• ScotRail will close several northern routes from 6pm Friday and impose speed restrictions on other lines from 7pm, while the Caledonian Sleeper is cancelled on Friday night.
• Northern Ireland’s Education Authority has told many schools to close early, electricity networks have pre‑positioned extra crews, and officials urge only essential travel and securing loose outdoor items.