Severe gales are expected to hit the Isle of Man in the build-up to Christmas.

The Ronaldsway Meteorological Office’s five-day forecast predicts that strong winds will hit the island on Friday (December 20), followed by severe gales on Saturday and Sunday (December 21 and 22) and strong winds again on Monday (December 23).

Due to the high winds, there is a risk of travel disruption on both Saturday and Sunday, while there is also expected to be wintry showers on hills over the weekend.

A spokesperson from the Met Office said: ‘Ultimately I think the main emphasis in the forecast is the gale to severe gale force winds that we’re expecting to see during Saturday and into Sunday, which are likely to cause some disruption to travel.

‘There is a risk of the showers being wintry at times during the weekend, but at the moment this looks to be mainly over the hills.

‘Of course, any warnings that are required will be issued closer to the time and the message for the general public at the moment is just to keep up to date with the latest information.’

Friday is set to be dry initially, with showers later in the morning which will then clear in the afternoon.

Strong to gale force winds will then arrive on Saturday, alongside clear intervals and scattered showers. Later on Saturday, wintry showers are then expected to arrive on hills.

The gales will then become severe on Sunday, with wind speeds expected to reach 60 to 65 miles per hour, while scattered showers will also continue.

Monday will then be cloudy with strong winds at first, with wind speeds then decreasing later in the day accompanied by scattered showers.