Battered by Ali
Storm lashes Britain after 90mph gales leave 2 dead
STORM Ali battered Britain with 90mph winds and heavy rain yesterday, leaving two dead in its wake as it swept into northern England and Scotland.
There were widespread power cuts and travel chaos amid warnings that the strong winds will move south and last until Monday.
The first named storm of the season was blamed for the death of a Swiss tourist yesterday when her caravan was dislodged from its moorings and blown off a cliff as she slept in Galway, west Ireland, and a man in his 20s, a contractor working with Northern Ireland Water, was killed after being hit by a tree at a water pumping station.
As Ali tore across Britain, a woman in Cheshire was seriously injured when a tree fell on her car. The Met Office has issued several weather alerts warning of potential ‘danger to life’ over the next five days due to flying debris as it predicts winds of up to 65mph.
The treacherous conditions saw wind speeds hit 92mph in Dundee, 74mph in Capel Curig in Wales and gusts of 68mph in St Bees Head, Cumbria. Thousands of homes suffered power cuts, while the M6 motorway was closed for hours in Cumbria after a HGV blew over.
Falling trees closed many other roads, and forecasters warned the time of year meant many were still in full leaf and ‘acting like sails’, making it more likely they could be blown over. Train services in Scotland were cancelled as the weather was declared a ‘major incident’.
The Swiss tourist, named as Elvira Ferraii and believed to be in her 50s, had arrived on holiday just hours earlier. Her body was found among debris from the crumpled caravan on the beach about 30ft below the campsite. Remarkably, a tent next to where the caravan had been moored was undisturbed by the storm.
Mary Sweeney, who owns a bar by the campsite, said: ‘ The weather was ferocious. We’re right on the edge of the Atlantic here and the campsite is completely exposed to the full force of the elements coming off the sea.’
In North Wales an elderly couple were taken to hospital after being blown over in high winds on the street in Llandudno.
A witness said: ‘It looked like a nasty incident. There was blood on the pavement.’
Forecasters say Storm Ali will clear by this morning, but warn that severe weather conditions will continue. Rachel West from the Met Office said: ‘Another storm will arrive bringing strong winds and heavy rain. There will potentially be more tricky weather at the weekend. Saturday will start off dry and bright but on Sunday there will be strong winds and a weather warning for another very windy spell is in place for all of England and Wales on Monday.’