SCOTLAND looks likely to escape a potentially devas-tating storm exp-ected to hit England this weekend.

Forecasters at the Met Office have issued severe weather warn-ings down south with 90mph gales heading for coastal areas and 80mph winds expected elsewhere. There is the potential for trees to be uprooted and damage buildings.

The effects could be the worst seen in England since the Great Storm of 1987.

The storm is passing through the Gulf of Mexico, gathering strength, and is expected to hit the UK overnight on Sunday, into Monday morning.

And although at this stage it is not predicted to reach Scotland, the Met Office has said the course of the storm could change between now and Sunday.

It has issued "be prepared" warnings for parts of England and "be aware" warnings for Wales.

A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: "At the moment, Scotland is not affected by the weather warnings.

"We have issued an amber warning for the early hours of Monday along the south coast of the United Kingdom and yellow warnings in Wales.

"Glasgow won't be affected as it stands.

"However, this is a weather feature that is still forming so we are monitoring it. As it forms, the track of the storm might change.

"We'll have a clearer picture of it as it gets closer."

Today started off with heavy rain around Glasgow, with temper-atures today to hit 13ÚC with winds of 12mph.

Tomorrow will start off dry with spells of sunshine in the after-noon and early evening. It will be 10ÚC with gusts of wind at 30mph.

Sunday will be ano-ther day of sunshine and showers in Glasgow and some of the rain could be fairly heavy with temperatures again around 10ÚC.

The worst storms to hit Glasgow in recent memory were on January 15,1968.

Throughout the night and into the early hours of the next morning, Glasgow was battered by hurricane force winds. Twenty people across central Scotland were killed.

stef.lach@ heraldandtimes.co.uk