Severe Winds Hammer Scotland

Police in Scotland are warning people to stay off the roads as winds battering the country are expected to strengthen.

Gusts of up to 85 miles per hour (137 kph) have forced schools to shut and disrupted transport, canceling trains and forcing bridges to close.

Weather forecasters are predicting hurricane-strength winds of over 100 mph (160 kph) later Thursday afternoon.

Scottish Hydro said “thousands” of customers were without power, mostly in the west of Scotland. It says it expects the situation to “develop throughout the day” as the storm moves eastward.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland says a wide area of the country will be affected and that “people could be putting themselves at considerable risk” by traveling in such weather conditions.