What happened to summer?
80mph Francis lashes UK
STORM Francis brought summer to an end yesterday as it battered Britain with 80mph winds and torrential rain.
Two people were swept away in a swollen river, homes were flooded and roads and railway lines blocked by the storm.
The south of England and Wales bore the brunt of the gales, with winds close to 80mph, while in Scotland the East Coast saw gusts of 50mph.
The railways and roads were badly affected by the deluge. ScotRail suspended all services through Burntisland in Fife after heavy rain flooded the tracks.
And in the North-East, the rail line between Aberdeen and Inverurie was blocked by a fallen tree.
In Lanarkshire, a lorry was blown onto its side on the M74, while fallen trees caused problems on the A85 at Dalmally and the A82 between Bridge of Orchy and Tyndrum in Perthshire.
In Cardiff, rescuers launched two separate search operations after reports of a man and canoeist getting into difficulty in the River Taff. The searches were both suspended last night and are expected to resume again this morning.
At Leckwith near Cardiff a woman was rescued from the River Ely after she went into the water to save her dog.
And several people had to be rescued at a campsite in St Clears, South Wales, after a river burst its banks. Firefighters used rescue boats to help nine campers to safety.
The Met Office said the strongest winds hit the Isle of Wight, where a gust of 76mph was recorded.
In the Lake District, 3.3in of rain fell – more than the 2.8in average for August.
Ferry operator CalMac cancelled several services on the West Coast, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 11 flood alerts in place from Aberdeenshire to the Borders.
Matthew Box of the Met Office said more than an inch (28.8mm) of rain fell at Dundrennan in Kirkcudbrightshire in six hours yesterday morning.
Mr Box added: ‘It has been particularly wet across parts of Scotland today.
‘Quite a few places will have seen 14-15mm (half an inch) of rain but the totals will be much higher in the Borders and Southern Uplands.
‘Wind has been more of a problem in other places, such as the Central Belt, where we have seen gusts of 41mph.
‘The East will feel the worst of the wind before things calm down tomorrow morning. Areas such as Fife, Angus and Aberdeenshire will feel the strongest gusts.
‘Wednesday will start off wet and windy but will become much calmer as the day goes on.’
‘The worst of the wind’