STORM Pia has lead to damage and disruption across the UK, with gusts as high as 115mph in Scotland.
A yellow warning for wind, stretching north from Birmingham to the Shetland Islands and including Northern Ireland, ended at 3pm on Thursday.
But another yellow alert was issued for snow and ice across Shetland from Thursday and into the weekend, with possible accumulations of 2-5cm of snow.
Icy patches are expected on untreated roads and pavements on the Scottish archipelago, bringing the risk of injury from slips and falls as well as travel disruption.
Gusts of 115mph were recorded at Cairngorm Summit, winds of 81mph were recorded at Brizlee Wood, near Alnwick, Northumberland and at Baltasound on Shetland, with gusts of more than 70mph recorded elsewhere in the North East of England.
Storm Pia, which was named by the Danish Met Institute, is gradually moving towards mainland Europe where its impacts are expected to be more severe, the Met Office said in a statement.
The winds are due to ease for many across the UK with wet weather likely to persist in western areas.
The forecasting body predicted continued “unsettled” weather over the weekend and said a White Christmas – defined as a single snowflake falling on Christmas Day – is likely, particularly over high ground in the far north of Scotland.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dave Hayter said: “It’ll be a particularly wet weekend in the north and west, with breezy conditions for many.
“While those further south will generally be drier, some sporadic showers could spread into the south west at times, as well as some more persistent rain for Wales on Sunday.
“Christmas Day will likely see a continuation of unsettled, mainly showery, weather in the north west, including Northern Ireland.
“While the day may start damp in southern and central areas, that rain should clear into the English Channel through the evening.”
Oli Claydon, a Met Office spokesman, said there will not be “picture postcard snowy scenes” on Christmas Day.
Train passengers experienced significant disruption on Thursday with National Rail reporting that routes across Scotland, and parts of England and Wales were affected, and speed restrictions were in place on lines within the previous weather warning area.
