FORECASTERS and government ministers were today slammed for giving little warning of the severity of one of the worst storms to hit Scotland in more than a decade.

The Met Office, which provides forecasts to the Scottish Government, changed its weather warning from amber to red at just 8.14am yesterday - after gusts of 91mph had been recorded at Glasgow Airport.

And the warnings came only as it became clear that the wind hitting Glasgow and the Central Belt was stronger than expected.

Two hours later, wind speeds of 102mph were recorded in Edinburgh, the third highest wind levels on record.

The authorities' response was in sharp contrast with the storms of December 8 last year, when clear warnings from the Met Office and the Scottish Government were released a day earlier, urging people to avoid all travel where possible.

Although the December storm saw a slightly higher maximum wind speed, yesterday's storm had a far more devastating impact as the highest winds were concentrated in urban areas.

The Met Office said a major difference between the two weather systems was the speed at which yesterday's high winds developed, helped by a meteorological phenomenon known as a 'sting jet'.

The sting jet is characterised by a hook-shaped batch of clouds in which a jet of accelerating air descends from the cloud head, picking up speed as it goes. It is thought to have added around 25mph to yesterday's wind speeds, according to some forecasters.

Helen Chivers, of the Met Office said: "It is a factor. It happens very rapidly, hence you end up with a very rapid increase in wind speeds and, equally, it dies down again very quickly. So we had two to three hours of very strong winds in a very narrow area."

She added: "It's the timing in a weather system that can be difficult to predict."

The first yellow warning, advising the public to be aware of potential problems, was issued by the Met Office on Sunday but upgraded to an amber warning on Monday lunchtime, with the public advised to "be prepared".

West of Scotland restaurant owner Filippo Madonia criticised authorities for failing to provide adequate weather warnings after he suffered flooding at his seafront premises.

The 63-year-old, owner of Mira Mare restaurant in Helensburgh, said he was part of an alert scheme run by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and normally receives text messages warning of potential flooding.

But he said no warning was issued and he has now been forced to close the premises after gales and high waves caused flooding along the coast.

He said: "We didn't get a warning this time from SEPA, I just came down at around 9am to do some prep work and I couldn't get in. Then, when I eventually did, there was water everywhere. It must have been horrendous at around 8am - so why was there no warning?"

"A couple of weeks ago when the hurricane was here, we got a warning from SEPA and myself and my wife got sandbags to protect the building. This time we didn't get a warning so we didn't take any precautions.

"There's a fire exit at the back of the restaurant and once the drains can't cope, the water just builds up and pours into the lane and through that door.

"The majority of the damage has been to the carpet and I'm now trying to get in touch with my insurers.

"We'll be closed for a while to get repairs done.

"I've been here for more than 30 years - this is absolutely soul-destroying."

SEPA claimed flood warnings were issued for the area at 4.15pm on Monday and Mr Madonia should have received a text at that time.

However, a Scottish Government spokesman defended their action, saying: "Public information was issued on Monday after- noon and websites and roadside signs updated accordingly.

"Both the Scottish Government Resilience Room and the Multi-Agency Response Team were operating before the Met Office red warning."

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: "Thanks to the arrangements we put in place on Monday, engineers and chainsaw gangs – including many brought in from other areas – have been out all day restoring power lines, repairing faults and clearing trees from railway lines, roads and power lines."

But Labour transport spokesman Elaine Murray said authorities were too slow.

She said: "Anyone who looked out of their window first thing would have been more up to date than the Met Office."

Insurance firms are expecting to be hit by big bills following the storm and people affected by it have been urged to get in touch with their insurers.

'