Ophelia causes destruction and death on her way to Scotland.

Winds as strong as 70mph could still hit Courier Country early today

The deadly Storm Ophelia, which brought winds of almost 120mph to the Irish coast, is expected to die down as it moves into Tayside and Fife today.

In Ireland the ex-hurricane led to the deaths of three people yesterday, left 360,000 without power, uprooted trees, blocked roads and tore off the roof of a primary school in Cork.

Planes across the UK were forced to divert due to smoke and dust in the atmosphere, with flights from Scotland cancelled and ferry services called off at the last minute.

An Amber warning remained in place for south-west Scotland, Lothian, the Borders and Strathclyde until 11pm last night, with the blustery conditions expected to continue into this afternoon.

Winds as strong as 80mph were forecast to batter the country, bringing a “danger of life” from flying debris overnight. There were four flood alerts and a further 14 warnings put in place by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) across coastal regions vulnerable at high tide in Ayrshire, Arran and Dumfries and Galloway yesterday evening.

Last night the Met Office said the storm will be dying down this morning as it makes its way across the east coast into Tayside and Fife.

However Graeme Madge, spokesman for the forecasters, said winds of up to 70mph could still hit the regions in the morning and afternoon.

A yellow, or “severe”, weather warning for wind will remain in place for Tayside and Fife until 3pm today with power cuts, travel disruption and building damage still possible.

Mr Madge said: “The storm is losing some of its intensity, but it will still be a very powerful system.”

He added there is still a risk of “falling trees” and dangerous waves during high tides but by late this afternoon, wind speeds will have dropped.

A Scottish Government resilience meeting took place yesterday.

Traffic Scotland has warned motorists to prepare for “high wind restrictions for major structures on the trunk road network” across the country.

Last night Scottish transport minister Humza Yousaf said: “The conditions are leading to transport disruption and we are urging people to take the weather into account if they are planning to travel.”

Picture: Getty Images. Waves crash up on to Penzance seafront in Cornwall as Storm Ophelia batters Ireland and the west of Britain.

Picture: Dundee University. Ophelia over Ireland, as captured by Dundee University’s satellite receiving station.