Storm Hector expected to hit west coast overnight

Storm Hector is expected to hit Scotland's west coast overnight causing widespread disruption to ferry services, operator CalMac has warned.

The strongest winds will reach Northern Ireland during the early hours of tomorrow before moving up through the Inner and Outer Hebrides throughout tomorrow morning.

Westerly winds are likely to gust between 50 and 60 mph in many areas and possibly around 70 mph in some exposed locations.

CalMac's Director of Service Delivery, David Gibson said:

'As always when stormy weather is forecast, people should check their travel arrangements before leaving the house. Our website and social media feeds will be updated constantly as the latest information becomes available.

'With such a broad forecast it is difficult to pin down individual routes that will be affected the most, however, we expect significant disruption tomorrow morning 

The Met forecast is for winds to die down moving into Thursday afternoon.

'Even though winds weaken over the course of tomorrow there is every chance that vessels will be out of position resulting in a disruption knock on effect for the rest of the day. I would urge people to check the latest service status before they travel and also consider signing up for our text alert service,' added David.

Latest service information is available at calmac.co.uk and on twitter @calmac_updates