Severe weather is set to batter Tayside over Christmas as Storm Barbara sweeps into the region – but the chances of snow are minimal.
A yellow weather warning is in place for Friday through to Sunday with gusts of up to 60mph expected on Christmas Day in parts of Courier Country.
Latest satellite animation shows #StormBarbara forming in the Atlantic pic.twitter.com/zcYHB581g4
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 22, 2016
Festive travel plans have also been disrupted as flights from three London airports – Heathrow, Gatwick and London City – were hit by delays.
A spokesman for Dundee Airport confirmed that there are no predicted changes to the Dundee to London Stansted flights, but the situation would be monitored.
Restrictions were in place on the Tay Road Bridge on Thursday morning with the road closed to double-decker buses as wind speeds reached 45mph.
A 30mph speed limit was in place for all other vehicles.
Severe weather warnings in place for #StormBarbara: strong winds and heavy rain expected from tomorrow. Please take care & #RespectTheWater pic.twitter.com/0xDWP7qum8
— RNLI (@RNLI) December 22, 2016
A spokesman for the Met Office said: “It will certainly be a mixed bag.
“The restrictions are likely to remain in place on the bridge with gusts of 50mph expected.
“There will be no real change in that — with showers expected to arrive from the west.
“These will be largely intermittent but will create hazardous conditions for commuters.”
The 'wee guys' are busy storing away their bins and garden furniture before #stormBarbara arrives – you should do the same #safetyFirst pic.twitter.com/FcGTuJTnzY
— TheCoastguardTeam (@CoastguardTeam) December 22, 2016
The top temperatures for Dundee over the weekend are expected to be 6C on Christmas Eve, warming up to a balmier 12C on Christmas Day – meaning that the chances of snow are almost non-existent.
The winds are also expected to be strongest on Christmas Day, which could cause travel disruption.
Saturday is forecast to be wet with sunny spells, which will continue on Sunday but without the showers.
The lowest temperatures will be at around 3C but it will feel like a much colder -3C, according to the Met Office forecast.
The Scottish Government said its resilience arrangements have been activated to ensure the country is as prepared as possible for the severe weather.
Some social media users appeared amused by the storm’s name, which is part of the Met Office’s alphabetical policy for the strongest weather systems.
How can we take a threat from a storm called Barbara seriously? It sounds one of your Mum's friends who's going to pop round for coffee ?☕️
— Tony Shepherd (@tonysheps) December 22, 2016
The next storm will be called Conor, although no weather systems passing the naming threshold have been identified, the Met Office said.
