Storm Doris to bring snow and wind to Scotland Published duration 21 February 2017

image copyright Met Office image caption The Met Office has issued weather warnings for Wednesday and Thursday

The fourth named storm of this winter, Doris, is expected to bring high winds and snow to Scotland on Thursday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow "be aware" warning for parts of the Highlands, Aberdeenshire, central and southern Scotland.

An amber "be prepared" warning for high winds and heavy rain has been issued for parts of England and Wales.

A warning of gales for Scotland's north mainland coast and the Northern Isles is in place for Wednesday.

Drivers have been warned to expect disruptions and plan their journeys before setting off.

Thursday's Storm Doris could see the heaviest snow falls in Scotland on highest parts of the Southern Uplands.

Blizzard conditions

Accumulations of up to 10-20cm (4-8in) have been forecast. Winds gusting to up to 60mph are also expected, causing blizzard conditions over high ground.

Doris is the latest storm to be named by the Met Office of the most recent autumn/winter. It follows Angus in November and December's Barbara and Conor.

While snow is far from unexpected in winter, heavy snowfalls followed shortly afterwards by milder weather have been a mark of this Scottish winter

Wednesday's yellow warning is for west to north westerly severe gales.

The Met Office said there could be gusts of 65-70 mph and locally 75-80 mph over parts of the Northern Isles.

In the warning, it said: "A swathe of very strong winds is expected to affect Orkney, southern parts of Shetland and the far north of mainland Scotland early on Wednesday, easing from the west through the morning.

"These will however briefly clip the far north east of Aberdeenshire around the middle of the day."

Stein Connelly, from Traffic Scotland, said: "With the unsettled conditions expected over the next few days, we are advising road users to check all of the available information on the Traffic Scotland web site before they set off on their journey.

"Any disruption tomorrow is likely to be caused by the high winds in the north of Scotland and temporary restrictions may be required on road bridges, especially for high sides vehicles.