Snow and gale force winds to sweep across Scotland this week Snow and gale force winds are forecast to hit much of Scotland by the end of the week. The Met Office has issued Yellow Be Aware warnings for westerly gales across all of the country from midnight on Thursday through to 6pm. From noon on Thursday until noon on Friday alerts for snow across Orkney and Shetland, Highlands, Grampian, Strathclyde, Central, Tayside and Fife have also been issued. STV weatherman Sean Batty says the winter weather will move in from the north as soon as Wednesday. He said: "After a mild start to the week the weather will turn much colder later on with snow for some areas. During Wednesday, snow showers will start to affect the far north and north west of the country but the main plunge of cold air will push south during Thursday behind a band of rain, which could also turn to sleet and snow as it clears away. The winds will also pick up on Thursday and bring gales or severe gales, especially around the north and north east, where there will also be a feed of frequent sleet and snow showers. The strong winds will give a significant wind chill, blowing off lying snow, a risk of blizzard-like conditions and is likely to have an impact on ferry travel especially to the Northern Isles and the continent. The winter blast will not last too long however, with temperatures soon climbing up. Sean added: "The strong winds and wintry weather should ease during Friday as high pressure builds again from the west. Temperatures will also recover through the weekend which should thaw away any lying snow at lower levels. For people planning to travel at the end of the working week, they should be aware of the risk of transport disruption and drivers be aware of icy conditions and reduced visibility in snow showers. This type of weather, is of course, not unusual at all during December but it may come as a bit of a shock as autumn has been fairly quiet for most of the country. The Met Office warns that the public should be aware of possible disruption to travel, particularly through the central belt of Scotland and over higher routes of northern England on Thursday. A spokesman said: "Large waves, high tides and surge may also cause some coastal flooding along the East Coast of England." More About Weather