More windy weather on the way '“ but Portsmouth escapes worst of Gertrude

But the south coast appears to be escaping the worst of Storm Gertrude, which is causing chaos in Scotland with power cuts and travel disruption.

Gusts of 91mph were recorded in South Uist, while on the mainland the Forth Road Bridge and Inverbervie in Aberdeenshire were hit by winds of 69mph.

The Met Office is forecasting strong winds in the Portsmouth area this morning, with gusts of up to 40mph around the coast.

Winds will ease this afternoon before a return to stormy conditions this evening.

Heavy rain is predicted from about 9pm tonight with gales of up to 50mph around exposed coasts.

Drivers have been warned to take extra care on the roads.

Hovercraft services to the Isle of Wight are running at a winter timetable today because of gales in the Solent and people are being warned to prepare for disruption.

The winds will ease over the weekend, with sunny spells tomorrow and light rain on Sunday.

On Sunday evening the windy weather will return, with the Met Office predicting south-westerly gusts of up to 50mph overnight and into Monday.