Wind warning expires after day of travel disruption

Waves crash off rocks in Lerwick where ferry services have been disrupted

Storm Ingunn has brought strong winds and disruption across much of Scotland with more than 40 train and ferry services cancelled.

Gusts of 74mph were recorded in Lerwick amid a yellow weather warning leading to the closure of nurseries and schools in the Western Isles.

The storm, named by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, also brought bands of heavy rain across the country.

An alert expired at 19:00 on Wednesday.

A bus had its back window blown out on the Tay Road Bridge by powerful gusts

Wind and rain have brought disruption to the north of Scotland

Rail services operating between Aberdeen and Inverurie, Elgin and Inverness and Glasgow Queen Street and Oban were among those affected, ScotRail said.

Others travelling from the central belt to the Highlands terminated early, but replacement buses were in place on certain routes.

Blanket speed restrictions were also imposed between Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, but were lifted on nearly all routes throughout the afternoon.

The Inverness to Wick and Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh services will keep restrictions in place until 08:30 on Thursday morning.

Safety inspections took place on some sections of track throughout the morning, the rail operator said.

ScotRail urged passengers to check for the latest updates on their journeys before departing.

CalMac cancelled sailings from Barra, Arran, Colonsay, Oban, Skye and North Uist due to rough seas.

The ferry operator said "adverse weather conditions" meant it was not safe for crossings to take place on Wednesday, and a number of services would be cancelled on Thursday as well.

Sailings were also disrupted on more than a dozen other routes and the operator warned others may be delayed or cancelled at short notice.

CalMac said passengers should check for the latest updates on their website or social media.

Meanwhile, the northbound carriageway of the Tay Road Bridge was briefly closed after the back window of a bus shattered.

The bridge operator said a “significant“ amount of glass was cleared from the road as a result.

The incident happened shortly after 09:00.

Stormy Scotland

In the Western Isles, all council schools and nurseries were closed to pupils and staff on Wednesday.

They are expected to open as normal on Thursday, the local authority confirmed.

Blustery conditions created stormy scenes in Stornoway

The weather warning for the north and north-east is in place lasted throughout the day and ended at 19:00.

The Met Office said winds of between 65 and 75mph were expected to hit some areas, though cautioned others could face gusts of up to 85mph.

A separate alert issued for the rest of Scotland ended at 17:00.

It comes at the end of a month in which parts of the country have been battered by Storm Isha and Storm Jocelyn.

The pair became the ninth and 10th named storms of the season and shut down Scotland's rail network due to powerful gusts and heavy rain.