Storm Kathleen: Weather warnings as snow, ice and wind to batter Scotland

This is the first time the UK has reached K in the storm naming alphabet since Storm Katie in 2016.

The first yellow warning comes into effect at 2am on Friday as heavy rain is set to hit central areas of Scotland including Glasgow, Stirling, and Edinburgh.

The Met Office said the conditions will bring a risk of flooding to homes and will likely disrupt travel.

A second yellow warning has been issued from 3am on Friday as snow is expected to arrive in areas such as Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Aberdeenshire, the Highlands, and Argyll and Bute.

STV meteorologist Sean Batty said that snow will be heavy in northern parts of the country with some sleet and wet snow is possible especially in the north Highlands including areas of the A9 south of Inverness.

“As much as 10-15cm of snow may accumulate in grassy areas over 300 metres,” he said.

Both warnings for snow and rain are in place until 9am.

The unsettled conditions are set to continue as yellow warnings for strong winds come into force on Saturday covering Fife, Stirlingshire, Scottish Borders, Argyll and Bute, Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway as well as the Lothians.

Sean said that the blustery conditions will hit most of Scotland but the strongest winds are expected in the Hebrides on Saturday and Sunday with the risk of severe gales and a good chance of gales over the mainland, which is “unseasonable” for April.

“It’s likely the stronger winds at the weekend will disrupt ferry travel around the north and west of the country, and given that it’s the spring holidays and routes may be busier than normal this could be more impactful.

“During the weekend winds could also gust in excess of 70mph on the mountains, so hillwalkers should take note of these severe conditions,” he said.