Thousands lose power in storm
More high winds due to hit Scotland and region
Storm Ophelia caused further disruption as hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power including more than 1,000 in Yorkshire. Ireland and Northern Ireland bore the brunt of the storm.
Very windy weather is likely... damage to buildings could happen. Warnings from the UK Met Office.
STORM OPHELIA caused further disruption as hundreds of thousands of homes were left without power including more than 1,000 in Yorkshire.
Ireland and Northern Ireland bore the brunt of the storm as it battered the British Isles, with more than 200,000 homes and businesses still without power in the Republic yesterday.
More than 1,000 homes in the North and West Yorkshire were without power after engineers worked through Monday night and into Tuesday to restore supplies.
The UK Met Office has reduced the area covered by a yellow weather warning, but has still said a spell of “very windy weather is likely”.
The warning now covers southwest Scotland, parts of North East England and Yorkshire.
Its forecast added last night: “Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen.”
Meanwhile, Scotland was last night braced for gusts of up to 70mph and flood warnings were in place on its west coast as the remnants of the hurricane hit the country and northern England.
Commuters were hit by delays caused by the weather, with several rail lines blocked by fallen trees and other problems.
Train services were temporarily hit between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and from the capital to Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth, as trees were blown over on to tracks.
In Glasgow part of a derelict block of flats already earmarked for partial demolition collapsed at about 4am, and a scout hall roof was blown off in Dumfries and Galloway as the region took the brunt of winds up to 77mph.
In Cumbria the county council said that high winds had torn the roof from a house in Whitehaven and even torn traffic lights from their poles, as well as causing traffic disruption.
Part of the roof of a stand at National League team Barrow AFC was also ripped off by the wind. Ireland experienced the worst of the weather on Monday, with winds of almost 100mph damaging electricity networks and causing widespread disruption.
Wind speeds reached 97mph (156kph) in County Cork on Monday, while the UK’s strongest gales reached 90mph (145kph) in Gwynedd, North Wales, the Met Office said.
About 216,000 Irish customers were still without power yesterday afternoon, with the worst damage in the southern part of the Republic.
In that area, about 80,000 people remain without water, a number expected to rise.
People in the worst affected areas from Wexford to Skibbereen in Co Cork have been asked to conserve their water supply as far as possible while repair work continues and reservoirs are refilled.
Meanwhile, an owl has been rescued by railway workers after becoming trapped under a tree during Storm Ophelia.
The injured bird was discovered by Network Rail staff as they carried out post-storm inspections at Styal, Cheshire, yesterday morning.