Yellow warning in place as Storm Ciara to bring 80mph winds
Trains passengers are urged to only travel tomorrow if their journey is “absolutely necessary” as Storm Ciara is set to batter the UK.
Several rail firms will operate reduced timetables amid speed restrictions due to gusts of up to 80mph. The Met Office predicted that heavy wind and rain would cause disruption to flights, trains and ferries, as well as damage to buildings.
There is also a “good chance” of power cuts.
A series of severe weather alerts have been issued by the Met Office, including an amber warning for south-east England tomorrow.
A yellow warning for wind and rain is in place for all of Scotland today and tomorrow. Much of the country, excluding sections of the east coast, is also affected by a yellow warning for wind and snow across Monday and Tuesday.
Storm Ciara was named by the Met Office on Wednesday.
Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Storm Ciara will bring damaging winds and heavy rain across the UK this weekend and we have issued a range of severe weather warnings giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm.
“Windswillincreasethrough Saturday across Northern Ireland, Scotland, northern England and Wales, before turning very windy across the rest of UK through the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Gusts of 50-60mph are expected quite widely across inland areas, with even stronger gusts of 80mph or higher along coastal areas, especially in south-east England and northern Scotland.”
Some trains will operate on reduced timetables
Pupils who watched their school go up in flames on Wednesday will be split across four different schools until at least the Easter holidays, Edinburgh City Council have confirmed.
Prestonfield Primary School, Castleview Primary, Castlebrae High and Inch House Community Education Centre will each take different numbers of children from Liberton Primary to accommodate those without a place to learn. Liberton Primary suffered major damage to classrooms and its roof in the fire.