90mph gale carnage
Major disruption as high winds and heavy rain cause travel chaos
GALE force winds battered most of Scotland yesterday, uprooting trees and causing mayhem on some of the country’s busiest roads.
Winds of more than 90mph whipped across higher areas as lowland areas suffered gusts of almost 70mph.
The gales were also accompanied by heavy downfalls, with parts of the country deluged in more than two inches of rain.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued 13 flood alerts and 18, more serious, flood warnings across the nation.
For much of the day, the main A1 east coast link to England was blocked in both directions after two lorries were blown over in the huge gusts. Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Stewart Carle shared a photo of one of the HGVs that crushed a patrol car in East Linton, East Lothian.
He wrote: ‘Relieved that one of my road patrol sergeants was not seriously injured.’
Ferry operator CalMac warned of disruption or the potential for cancellation on 26 of its 28 west coast routes.
Train services from Ayrshire to the Highlands were disrupted by rail line and platform closures.
Many tracks were blocked by falling trees or overhead line damage. In Edinburgh, major tourism attractions such as the castle and the capital’s Christmas market were closed due to safety fears while on Princes Street.
A double-decker bus was blown off the road into the grass verge between Kingseat and Cowdenbeath, Fife. In Skye one village was cut off after downpours caused a landslide.
Despite the widespread disruption the Met Office said it would not be officially naming the weather system as a storm.
In a post online, the Met Office said: ‘Contrary to some media reports Storm Brendan has not officially been named. But the weather is going to remain wet and windy and we are constantly monitoring likely impacts.’
A weather warning has been issued for today, this time for ice in the central and northern half of the country.