A weather warning attached to Storm Abigail, the first storm to be officially named by the Met Office, has been upgraded from yellow to amber.
The amber "be prepared" warning covers the Western Isles, parts of Argyll and the north west Highlands and Orkney.
The Met Office said winds could gust to up to 90mph and forecasters said large waves could affect coastal areas.
A yellow "be aware" issued on Tuesday has also been updated and extended to cover the rest of Scotland.
It warns of gusts of up to 70mph, and possibly 90mph in exposed places. Rain and lightning have also been forecast for the next two days.
Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne said all Thursday's Mallaig to Armadale sailings have been cancelled and other services could be disrupted because of the expected high winds.
Drew Collier, Calmac's operations director, said: "There is clear warning that major weather related disruption to ferry services on the Clyde and Hebrides routes is likely later this week so I would urge people to factor this in when making travel plans.
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