Hold on to your hats as autumn storm roars in
OCTOBER blasted in with the first stormy weather of the autumn yesterday as forecasters warned of high winds that will affect rushhour commuters today – and could hit power supplies.
The Met Office issued a yellow alert for downpours and gales following high winds across the country yesterday.
They are the result of the tail ends of hurricanes Lee and Maria which have battered the Gulf Coast of the United States and Puerto Rico.
The weather systems lost power as they crossed the Atlantic but still contained tropical heat which stirred up the weather in Scotland after a relatively calm and pleasant Saturday.
Gales hit swathes of the country yesterday, with the exposed coastal areas of the Western Isles badly hit. A Force Nine gale with gusts of 60 to 70mph led ferry operator CalMac to announce that the MV Lord of the Isles would remain at Lochboisdale, South Uist, until tomorrow morning at least.
The Barra to Oban timetable did not operate yesterday, while the Skye to Lochmaddy and Tarbert sailings ran up to three hours behind schedule because of wild conditions in the morning.
The official Met Office warning states: ‘A swathe of gale force winds are expected to
‘It will make driving conditions challenging’
cross many northern parts of the UK during Monday. Gusts of 50-60 mph are likely to develop quite widely, with gusts of 70 mph possible over parts of northern and western Scotland.
‘Winds are expected to peak across western Scotland in the early hours of Monday and through the Central Belt during Monday morning’s busy travel period.
‘Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely. Some bus and train journeys may be affected, with some journeys taking longer. Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges are likely.
‘Some short-term interruptions to power supplies are possible.
‘The strongest of the winds should gradually become confined to north-east Scotland by late evening. In addition, frequent heavy showers are likely to affect parts of western and northern Scotland.’
Met Office forecaster Matt Roe, who is based in Aberdeen, said: ‘Monday will see the first widespread strong winds and rain of the autumn.
‘It will affect the country overall including the Central Belt during rush hour and could cause disruption on the bridges in the morning.
‘The worst of the weather will die away in the Central Belt by later in the morning, although we will start to see some gales develop in Orkney and the far north of the mainland into the evening. Autumn is definitely here now.’
It comes ahead of an unsettled period of weather dominated by low pressure, which means the UK will experience heavy rain and strong winds in the days ahead.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis said: ‘Drivers will find the heavy showers and gusty winds make driving conditions challenging.’
Meanwhile, bookmaker Coral has cut the odds on this being the wettest October on record to 2-1 from 4-1 after a flurry of bets yesterday. The firm is also offering odds of 5-2 for October snowfall.
Spokesman John Hill said: ‘Punters are expecting a damp outlook ahead over the next few weeks as we have seen a flurry of bets for this month to be the wettest October on record.’
He added: ‘With the tail ends of Lee and Maria still being felt, we have also cut the odds on the wind speed to reach as high as 100mph over the next seven days.’