Warning over Storm Eunice as blizzards to sweep in
Dudley sparks travel chaos
SCOTLAND faces its second storm of the week today as Eunice rampages in with 80mph winds and heavy snow.
Storm Dudley swept across the country on Wednesday and into the early hours yesterday, with gusts of more than 70mph and heavy downpours.
It felled trees and caused transport chaos as trains were cancelled from 4pm on Wednesday until 10am yesterday to allow for safety checks on lines.
Last night the Scottish Government held an emergency ‘resilience meeting’, with Storm Eunice expected to bring gusts of 80mph and snow across the country. The snow could reach 2in in low-lying areas, with up to 12in above 250 metres (820ft).
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for between 3am and 6pm today, covering Central Scotland, Tayside and Fife, Strathclyde, South-West Scotland, and Lothian and Borders, and as far north as Grampian and the Highlands.
The situation was expected to be worse in England and Wales, with the Met Office issuing a red warning, the highest alert, from 7am until noon today. A
‘Teams working round the clock’
combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge will create a rare event for the UK, with a risk of ‘flying debris resulting in danger to life’, as well as damage to buildings and power lines.
The red warning covers the coastlines of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, as well as the south coast of Wales.
The Prince of Wales cancelled a visit to Newport and Swansea due to the forecast.
An amber warning, the second highest alert level, for wind is in place across the whole of England from 5am to 9pm.
Scotland was buffeted by Storm Dudley on Wednesday, with a gust of 74mph at Drumalbin in Lanarkshire, the Met Office said.
Network Rail Scotland said its engineers inspected more than 1,500 miles of track over ten hours, and yesterday morning its only lines still disrupted were Lanark to Glasgow and Largs to Kilwinning.
In the afternoon, however, eight trees toppled over track at Beattock, near Lockerbie in Dumfriesshire, affecting the West Coast main line and sending flames into the sky.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: ‘Preparations are under way ahead of Storm Eunice and teams will be working around the clock. We ask customers to keep an eye on our website, app or social media for updates.’
Ferry journeys were also disrupted yesterday.
Caledonian MacBrayne managing director Robbie Drummond told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme the firm ran 214 sailings on Wednesday – 54 per cent of its timetable – and hoped to improve on that yesterday, despite most routes being ‘liable to disruption’.
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney said the coming days will be ‘very challenging’. He added: ‘We would urge everyone to follow the latest travel advice.’ The Met Office’s alert for Scotland warns of a chance rural communities could be cut off and mobile phone coverage disrupted.