A final roar from the Beast
Transport and services again crippled by the icy conditions
SCOTLAND’S Siberian cold snap continued to wreak havoc yesterday, crippling roads, railways and runways with plunging temperatures and drifting snow.
Trains ran on only a handful of lines in the morning with the busiest commuter routes still cut off by snow, despite heavy duty ploughs patrolling the lines overnight.
Police urged drivers to avoid all but essential travel in the morning, while some rural roads in the Central Belt were closed.
The nation’s major airports were finally opened after staff worked all night to clear runways. But passengers were still warned to expect major delays and cancellations.
The Armed Forces have been drafted in to help NHS Tayside and NHS Fife medical staff get to and from work during the icy blast, dubbed the Beast from the East.
Up to 30 vehicles and 60 personnel from Royal Marine Condor in Arbroath, Angus, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards from Leuchars, Fife, and RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, will be deployed.
On Thursday, soldiers from Edinburghbased 3 Rifles and Penicuik’s 2 Scots deployed eight vehicles and 20 personnel to transport 200 critical care NHS Lothian staff to and from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Western General. A spokesman for the MoD said: ‘The Armed Forces are assisting emergency services in ensuring essential NHS staff are able to get to work.’
Meanwhile, many supermarkets remained stripped of fresh produce and kitchen essentials owing to a lack of deliveries – compounded by shoppers panic buying in preparation for the weekend.
When the sun went down yesterday after most Scots had been forced to take half a week off work it was estimated the ‘hibernation effect’ had drained the economy of around three quarters of a billion pounds.
Snowfall began to slow as the day progressed and a Met Office amber warning expired at 10am – replaced by a yellow alert until Monday.
Some public transport crept back into motion after three days of delays and cancellations, although the vast majority of Scots councils had kept all schools closed.
In total, more than 2,000 were shut for the day, with some 655,000 pupils staying at home.
By midday, ScotRail had reopened limited services between Glasgow and Ayr and Glasgow and Edinburgh. Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘Transport
MEDICS in the Highlands took advantage of the bad weather to test video technology that allowed patients to visit Caithness General Hospital in Wick and be seen by specialists over 100 miles away at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.
operators are doing their best to resume services where safe to do so.’ When the chill descended on Wednesday, 1,000 vehicles were stranded on the M80. Some people spent up to 24 hours in their vehicles, and were forced to rely on food and shelter from locals and emergency services. But by yesterday most motorways were made passable. The North was spared the initial effects of the Met Office red warning, but yesterday the storm made its presence felt in the North Sea as offshore flights and oil rig work ground to a halt.
Workers on several offshore platforms faced freezing conditions and problems with power and heating.
US oil major Chevron shut down production on the Alba Northern rig, 130 miles north-east of Aberdeen, due to a lack of power.
More than 100 workers were left stuck on board because weather conditions made it too risky to fly the personnel back on shore. A spokesman for the operator said: ‘The platform is currently using a back-up generator to meet essential power needs. All personnel on board are safe and well.’
Issues with heating and water on energy giant BP’s ETAP development in the North Sea also prompted 100 personnel to be taken off the platform.
BP said the issue was resolved within hours and staff were being prepared to return to the rig.
Meanwhile, a CHC-operated helicopter made an emergency landing at Aberdeen Airport.
The S92 aircraft was on a charter flight heading to Total’s Elgin platform when a cockpit warning light came on. It made a priority landing back at Aberdeen before 10am with 14 passengers and two crew on board.
Commercial flights out of Aberdeen were also hit, with more than 20 scheduled departures wiped out because of snow.
The A90 Aberdeen to Dundee road was closed following a multivehicle accident just after 9.30am at Tealing, Angus. Four cars were involved but no one was hurt.
Coach operator Megabus, meanwhile, cancelled services between Glasgow and Aberdeen. Higher
temperatures are expected to move in over the weekend as the strong winds subside.
But forecasters fear ice will become a problem – plunging the nation into yet more travel misery and straining the NHS with A&E visits for fall injuries.
Police said the weather presented a ‘continually changing picture’.
A command centre set up to combat the extreme conditions warned more snow is on the way.
Police Scotland Superintendent Helen Harrison said: ‘The snow is not due to stop, and neither will we until we are confident that the risks associated with travelling in the poor conditions have reduced significantly.’
Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: ‘Later in the weekend into Monday we’ll see snow, sleet and rain, and so that will bring the risk of icy patches.
‘The wind should gradually be easing through the next 24 hours or so.
‘It will stay cold, but perhaps feeling a little less cold. Temperatures will start to creep up so by Sunday and Monday we could see temperatures reaching highs of 4C or 5C.’