Brendan blows in: Storm warning as Scots keep hatches battened
Travel chaos on road and rail as 70mph winds batter country
Heavy rain and winds touching 70mph sparked travel chaos yesterday, closing part of the main east coast road to England and causing a landslide in the Borders.
Ferries were cancelled on the west coast and at one point in the afternoon, environment watchdogs Sepa had 44 flood warnings or alerts in place for various parts of the country.
Trains were halted due to flooding on the line between Kingussie and Aviemore in the Highlands and Network Rail said power was lost on the electrified line between Glasgow Central, Ayr, Largs and Ardrossan in Ayrshire. Today is expected to see a brief respite from the low pressure systems charging in from the Atlantic before another deep low pressure system – named Storm Brendan – crashes in, with 80mph gusts on the west coast tomorrow. Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: “Even after that system passes, the rest of the week is looking very unsettled.”
With winds gusting to 50mph in East Lothian yesterday, Police Scotland took the decision to close the A1 to all traffic between Haddington Junction and Thistly Cross.
HGV drivers were told to stay off the road entirely from Edinburgh to the English Border, following incidents on Tuesday when two lorries were blown over. The road reopened mid afternoon. The Tay Road Bridge in Dundee was closed to all traffic, before reopening to cars and single-decker buses.
A landslide closed the main A7 road from the Borders to England at Skipper’s Bridge, south of
Langholm. It reopened later once mud and debris was moved.
There were delays on the M80/M9 merge at Bannockburn and on the M8 in Glasgow.
A number of Cal Mac ferries were called off on the west coast, before winds dropped in the afternoon.
The Met Office said 106.8mm (more than four inches) of rain fell in 24 hours at Achnagart in the Highlands with Aboyne in Aberdeenshire the windiest place in the country at 67mph.
Colder air descending on Scotland overnight poses an ice risk this morning, with the ground still wet from yesterday’s
downpours.