Storm Caroline has reportedly forced more than 50 schools across the north of Scotland to close and left around 2,500 homes without power.

That’s according to local media reports, which suggest violent winds and rain have damaged electricity infrastructure across the region.

Power cuts around Aboyne forced a primary school to delay its opening this morning and left more than 300 homes and businesses in the village without power.

Engineers reportedly estimated they could have it fixed by 10:30am and by 9:20am, only 13 customers were still in the dark.

Met Office suggests the area will experience gusts of around 70-80mph through the day.

The official warning area extends across most of the Western Isles, the Northern Isles and the majority of mainland Scotland from Oban to Aberdeen.

The warning period is expected to last until midnight.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Steve Ramsdale, said: “The strongest winds will reach the northwest of Scotland early on Thursday, extending to northeast Scotland and the Northern Isles in the afternoon.

“During Thursday winds will start to ease in the west with the strongest of the winds becoming confined to the Northern Isles in the evening.”

Operator SSE Networks said: “We apologise for the loss of supply.

“Our engineers are on site working to get the power back on as quickly as they can.”