'Red alert': Police warn against all travel as 160mph winds batter Scotland

The Met Office has issued a warning of severe gales for much of the UK. A red "act now" weather warning has been issued for central and southern Scotland for Thursday afternoon and evening. The Met Office warned the public this could cause significant disruption to travel. There is the potential for 80 to 90 miles an hour gusts of wind.
BBC weather's Chris Fawkes explains what can be expected.

December 8, 2011 – SCOTLAND – Residents across parts of Scotland are being warned to take action as “dangerous” stormy weather with gusts of up to 90mph will hit the country. The Met Office warned of severe weather and gale-force winds on Thursday, as overnight snow on Wednesday closed roads and affected transport to schools in Aberdeenshire as the wintry weather continues. Red warnings – the highest level of Met Office alerts – were issued for wind in the Strathclyde, central belt, Tayside, Lothians and Borders areas. Stirling Council has also taken the decision to close all primary schools, nurseries and high schools at 12.30pm on Thursday. East Renfrewshire also said its schools would close from 1pm on Thursday. North Ayrshire issued a recomendation for parents to “keep children at home” and said its schools would be closing early. North Lanarkshire said it was “likely” its schools will close early if the “red alert” remained in place. South Lanarkshire said it would make a decision on early closing mid-morning. The warnings have been described as “highly unusual” by Transport Scotland, which is urging people to pay attention to police travel warnings. Police advise that conditions for travel between 3pm and 6pm on Thursday are likely to be extremely poor and significant delays should be expected. The Scottish Government said the wind could lead to all main road bridges being closed and will have a severe impact on Thursday’s rush hour, while disruption to power supplies and property is also a strong possibility. Meanwhile, ScotRail said speed restrictions of 50mph could be put in place tomorrow on trains travelling after 10am. -STV