The warnings come in to force from 9pm on Sunday. 80-85mph gusts are possible over the Western Isles, the far north of Scotland and the Northern Isles and there is a chance of gusts in excess of 90mph in some places, although the highest winds are only expected for a short time.  

The winds are associated with a low pressure system that will form to the west of the UK and is currently set to impact the northwest of the UK. 

The low pressure system’s impact on the weather in the northwest is likely to be short-lived and mostly for the overnight period on Sunday and through Monday morning for the Northern Isles. But given the magnitude of the gusts some impacts are possible, hence the yellow wind warnings.  

Met Office Expert Operational Meteorologist Daniel Rudman said, “A low pressure system is expected to develop in the Atlantic that will bring high winds to the far northwest of the UK, and in particular the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland. 

“Wind gusts could be in excess of 90mph in the most exposed coastal areas and areas within the yellow warning area could more widely see gusts of between 50 and 60mph. There will also be some associated rain brought in with the low pressure system, with some heavy downpours overnight on Sunday in the northwest, but these will also be short lived as the low pressure system moves on quickly in the early hours of Monday morning out to the west.”  

Elsewhere in the UK, an unsettled picture is the main theme of the weekend forecast as a band of rain moves in from the west on Saturday bringing rain to most areas of the UK at some point, with the north of Wales seeing the most persistent rain. Sunday will be a breezy day for most with scattered showers - mainly in western areas – before the low pressure system moves into the far northwest overnight, where the yellow wind warnings are in place.  

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