FORECASTERS are predicting the end of the Indian summer with autumn set to arrive in force later this week.
While much of Scotland has basked in sunshine and mild temperatures this month, the Met office say that the good times will come to an end from the middle of this week with rain and strong winds set to blow in from the west.
The spell of more turbulent weather is predicted to arrive around 5pm on Wednesday, with heavy rain expected for much of the country throughout the night.
And winds of up to 60mph are due to hit the north and the Northern isles on Thursday, before a band of cold air arrives in time for the weekend.
This will bring to an end the settled period of high pressure which has brought some relief to Scots following the wash-out summer.
A spokeswoman for the Met Office said: "It's all change this week, I'm afraid. We will see a band of low pressure move in to replace the high pressure which has kept things stable and sunny for the past few weeks.
"There will be some patchy rain in the west of Scotland on Tuesday, but the we should get to rush hour in the evening before the worst arrives, and after that there could be heavy and persistent rain in many areas throughout the night.
"Going in Thursday, we will se the winds pick up and its going to be a gusty day in quite a few places, with the worst of the weather over Shetland and Orkney, where there could be winds of up to 60mph."
She added: "After that things should settle down for the weekend, but there will be a cold front following behind the unsettled weather, so temperatures will drop considerably and it will not feel as warm as we have been used to.
"But all this is normal for this time of year and what we're seeing is just the return of typical autumn weather."
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