Edinburgh weather: Here's when Storm Dudley will hit the Capital

Storm Dudley will bring strong gales and heavy rain to Edinburgh today, which may cause significant disruption and danger to life.

The Met Office predicts that stormy weather will arrive this afternoon, and has issued two separate weather warnings that cover Edinburgh and the Lothians.

A yellow weather warning for wind will come into place at 1pm today and will last until 6am tomorrow.

However, the Met Office has predicted that the worst of the storm will hit the Capital from 2pm today, and has issued an amber warning for "very strong and disruptive" winds which will start at this time.

The warning, which covers Edinburgh and the Lothians, will remain in place until midnight tonight.

Inland wind speeds could reach 70-80 mph in places, while gusts of 80-90 mph are possible around exposed coasts and hills.

The Met Office has warned that “injuries and danger to life are likely” in coastal areas, and has urged the public to stay inside when possible.

Very strong westerly winds are expected to develop across southwest Scotland this afternoon.

There is also a chance of fallen trees and damage to buildings caused by the strong gales.

Disruption to transport has already begun. Trains from Edinburgh to Newcastle and London have been cancelled due to damage to the overhead lines

Scotrail will halt all train services in the Central Belt from 4pm today for safety reasons.

Forecasters have said the conditions are caused by Storm Dudley which will move across the northern half of the nation from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, and Storm Eunice which follows.

In a Met Office daily forecast video, meteorologist Alex Deakin has warned people in the affected areas to brace for "heavy rain and ever-strengthening winds".

"It's going to be a windy day throughout with those winds continuing to pick up through the afternoon and the evening," he said.

"There will be some snow on the hills across Scotland, but it's the rain and more particularly the wind we're concerned about in this storm system on Wednesday.

"It's likely to cause transport disruption and dangerous conditions by the sea."

Motorists have been urged to drive carefully, while electricity supply firms have issued warnings following the widespread outages which followed storms earlier this year.

A yellow warning for wind has also been issued for Friday, which will last from 12am until 9pm.

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