THE IRE OF ERIK
One dead as 70mph storm lashes Britain
STRONG winds and heavy rain lashed the country yesterday as Storm Erik hit, with a man killed when a tree was blown onto his car.
The wild weather is to continue over the weekend, forecasters warned, with flood risks and yet more chaos for travellers.
Yesterday, roads were closed and the rail network struggled amid the fifth named storm of this winter. Winds of 81mph were recorded at Cairngorm summit, with 70mph on Aonach Mor, Inverness-shire, and 60mph in Drumalbin, Lanarkshire.
Forecasters warned last night that winds could reach 100mph today.
There was widespread flooding before dawn on many main roads and motorways, while a lane was blocked on the M8 in Glasgow during the morning rush hour by a blown-away bouncy castle.
Elsewhere, the Tay Road Bridge was closed at lunchtime and the Forth Road Bridge was off-limits to double-decker buses.
The Skye and Erskine bridges were closed to high-sided vehicles.
Accidents led to tailbacks on main routes including the A720 Edinburgh Bypass, Clydeside Expressway in Glasgow, the A92 at Portlethen near Aberdeen, M90 at Friarton Bridge in Perth, M9 at Craigforth in Stirling and
‘100mph winds are possible’
M74 at Wellburn, Lanarkshire. Edinburgh Castle was also closed, due to safety concerns.
South of the Border, a 50-yearold man died in Devon when his car was hit by a tree. A young woman in a second car was trapped but not seriously hurt.
Winds of 50mph blew a 40ft tree onto a bus in Poole, Dorset, tearing through the windscreen. No one was injured.
Rail services between Kilwinning and Ardrossan, Ayrshire, were suspended due to high waves, which were also seen in Prestwick.
Flooding on the tracks at Kirkconnel, Dumfriesshire, delayed services from Glasgow.
CalMac dropped all sailings out of Oban and Mallaig, while flights were also affected, with delays at a number of airports.
Thirteen flood alerts and 20 flood warnings were issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and yellow warnings for wind and rain in the West and Highlands remain in place until 3pm today.
The Met Office’s Nicky Maxey said: ‘[Today] we expect to see even higher wind speeds across Scotland, with 100mph possible on the highest spots.
‘As Erik pulls away on Sunday, temperatures drop. Expect a widespread frost on Monday.’