Hurricane-force winds cause damage and travel disruption across north of Britain

© Danny Lawson/PA



A lorry blown over in heavy wind between junction 9 and 10 of the M74 near Kirkmuirhill, South Lanarkshire

Hurricane-force winds gusting to over 100mph left a swathe of damage across the north of Britain overnight, bringing down trees and power lines and damaging buildings and road signs.

There was widespread disruption to road, air and ferry travel and all domestic train services were suspended in Scotland before 8am, causing chaos for commuters.

Around 75,000 homes were left without power in the Highlands and Islands in the worst storm of the winter.

A wind speed of 113mph was recorded in Stornoway in the Western Isles overnight, the strongest gust recorded in the town since records began in 1970. Elsewhere, there were gusts up to 110mph at Loch Glascarnoch, and 97mph Altnaharra. A wind speed of 140mph was recorded on the summit of Cairngorm mountain.

Stornoway coastguard went to the aid of a vulnerable 80-year-old woman after the windows of her house in the village of Point, on Lewis, were blown in during the night.

The Met Office issued an amber "be prepared" warning across the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney, Aberdeenshire, central and south east Scotland.

A yellow "be aware" warning, predicting gusts of between 60mph and 70mph, covers the rest of Scotland on Friday, as well as Northern Ireland and parts of northern England, including Cumbria, Lancashire, Northumberland, Durham and North Yorkshire.

The Forth Road Bridge, the main route to Edinburgh for thousands of commuters, was closed to all traffic overnight after a van overturned, before re-opening to cars only shortly before 7.30am. Elsewhere, lorries were blown over on the M6 in Cumbria and the M74 north of the border.

The Dornoch Bridge north of Inverness and the Skye Bridge were closed during the morning and the emergency services were said to be dealing with fallen trees blocking roads in many areas, including residential streets in Glasgow.

© Scotrail/PA

A train near Cupar in Scotland which was hit by a tree in heavy winds

ScotRail initially suspended all services for safety reasons while the rail infrastructure was being inspected for damage caused by fallen trees and high tides on coastal routes before restoring a number of local services, including trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow, before 9am. Cross-border services were still running.

Flood warnings and alerts have been issued in Scotland and parts of England and Wales and power companies had extra staff working to restore power to homes in the north of Scotland.

A large number of ferry services were cancelled in the west and north of Scotland and all schools on Orkney and the Western Isles were closed on Friday, with 20 schools and nurseries shut for safety reasons in the Highland Council area.

The ferocious gales have been stirred up by an extra-powerful jet stream triggered by plunging temperatures in the United States hitting warmer air in the south.

Forecasters said the 250mph jet stream would bring two "vigorous depressions" to the UK over the coming days.

Lashing rain is also to continue along the west coast on Friday and over the weekend as a second storm is predicted to bring more gale-force winds on Saturday.

John Seymour, national manager of the AA's severe weather team, said: "Scotland, particularly, is going to take something of a battering and drivers need to be prepared for possible widespread travel disruption and challenging driving conditions across the affected areas.

"If you have no choice but to drive, keep your speed down as sudden gusts can catch you out and there is a risk of debris on the roads."

Weather outlook Friday, 9th Jan, 2014.

Gale- to storm-force winds will diminish across northern Scotland on Friday. Rain will let up Friday morning, but showery weather will return in the afternoon. Shower activity will diminish on Saturday.