Storm Floris batters UK with record winds, disrupts travel in Scotland and northern England
Gusts in the north of Scotland reached 132 kilometres per hour (82 miles per hour), the fastest ever recorded in August in Scotland.
The second-most serious amber wind warning was in place across almost all of Scotland as officials sought to minimise damage.
'Storm Floris is an unusually strong storm for the time of year,' the UK's Meteorological Office said in a statement.
The Met Office said it was only the third time an amber wind warning had been issued in August since the system launched in 2011, adding that some gusts in Scotland were 'likely' to beat records.
Scientists say human-induced climate change is driving more intense and frequent extreme weather events around the globe, as the planet continues to warm.
Several train operators in northern England and Scotland cancelled services, warning passengers not to make their journeys.
A tree was removed after it fell onto overhead railway wires in Glasgow, causing a fire, according to Network Rail Scotland. Multiple trees were also blown over in the northeastern Scottish region of Aberdeenshire, blocking roads.
Flights were cancelled, especially from Aberdeen airport in the north-east.
In Scotland's capital, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo marching parade was cancelled and Edinburgh Zoo said it would be closed for the day.
Balmoral Castle, the summer residence of the Royal Family in the north of Scotland, was also closed to visitors on Monday.
About 22,500 homes were without power in the afternoon according to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks.
Storm Floris is the second named storm to hit the UK this year, and the sixth one this storm season, which will run from early September 2024 to late August 2025. — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Typhoon Podul prompts evacuation of nearly 2,000 in Taiwan, central and southern regions brace for impact
TAIPEI, Aug 12 — Nearly 2,000 people in Taiwan will be evacuated from their homes today as Typhoon Podul approaches the island, with storm-hit central and southern regions likely to be pounded again, authorities said. The typhoon is expected to make landfall along the lightly-populated southeast coast tomorrow before sweeping across the island and into the Taiwan Strait, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Average wind speeds at the centre of the storm could reach up to 133 kilometres per hour, with gusts of up to 166kph, the agency said. Around 31,000 soldiers were ready to assist in typhoon preparations as well as rescue and relief efforts, the defence ministry said. Local carriers Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines said they have cancelled all domestic flights for tomorrow. Among the most affected areas will be the eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung, the central county of Chiayi, southern regions and the outlying islands of Kinmen, forecaster Chu Mei-lin told a briefing. 'Everyone should be aware of the threat of strong winds and heavy rains from tomorrow until the early morning of the 14th,' Chu said. Nearly 700 people will be evacuated from their homes in Hualien and there are plans to relocate around 1,100 people from the mountains of the southern city of Kaohsiung, government officials said. Kaohsiung and the neighbouring county of Pingtung could be drenched with a cumulative 400-600 millimetres of rain from today to Thursday, another forecaster said. Other areas could receive more than 350mm of rain. Swathes of central and southern Taiwan are still recovering from the impact of Typhoon Danas and torrential rain in recent weeks. Typhoon Danas, which hit Taiwan in early July, killed two people and injured hundreds as the storm dumped more than 500mm of rain across the south over a weekend. That was followed by torrential rain from July 28 to August 4, with some areas recording more than Taiwan's rainfall of 2.1 metres for 2024. The week of bad weather left five people dead, three missing, and 78 injured, a disaster official said previously. Taiwan is accustomed to frequent tropical storms from July to October. Scientists say human-driven climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely. — AFP
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Third-hottest July on record wreaks climate havoc
Eleven countries experienced their hottest July in at least a half-century, including China, Japan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Brunei and Malaysia. (AFP pic) PARIS : The third-hottest July worldwide ended a string of record-breaking temperatures last month, but many regions were still devastated by extreme weather amplified by global warming, the European climate monitoring service said Thursday. Heavy rains flooded Pakistan and northern China; Canada, Scotland and Greece struggled to tame wildfires intensified by persistent drought; and many nations in Asia and Scandinavia recorded new average highs for the month. 'Two years after the hottest July on record, the recent streak of global temperature records is over,' Carlo Buontempo, director of the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, said in a statement. 'But that does not mean climate change has stopped,' he said. 'We continue to witness the effects of a warming world.' A misleading dip As in June, July showed a slight dip compared to the preceding two years, averaging 1.25°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) era. 2023 and 2024 warmed above that benchmark by more than 1.5°C, which is the Paris Agreement target set in 2015 for capping the rise in global temperatures at relatively safe levels. That deceptively small increase has been enough to make storms, heatwaves and other extreme weather events far more deadly and destructive. 'We continued to witness the effect of a warming world in events such as extreme heatwaves and catastrophic floods in July,' Buontempo said. Last month, temperatures exceeded 50°C in the Gulf, Iraq and – for the first time – Turkey, while torrential rains killed hundreds of people in China and Pakistan. In Spain, more than a thousand deaths were attributed by a public institute to the heat in July, half as many as in the same period in 2024. The main source of the CO2 driving up temperatures is well known: the burning of oil, coal and gas to generate energy. 'Unless we rapidly stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, we should expect not only new temperature records but also a worsening of impacts,' Buontempo said. Regional contrasts Global average temperatures are calculated using billions of satellite and weather readings, both on land and at sea, and the data used by Copernicus extends back to 1940. Even if July was milder in some places than in previous years, 11 countries experienced their hottest July in at least a half-century, including China, Japan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Bhutan, Brunei and Malaysia, according to AFP calculations. In Europe, Nordic countries saw an unprecedented string of hot days, including more than 20 days above 30°C across Finland. More than half of Europe along with the Mediterranean region experienced the worst drought conditions in the first part of July since monitoring began in 2012, according to an AFP analysis of data from the European Drought Observatory. In contrast, temperatures were below normal in North and South America, India and parts of Australia and Africa, as well as in Antarctica. Seas still overheating Last month was also the third-hottest July on record for sea surface temperatures. Locally, however, several ocean records for July were broken: in the Norwegian Sea, in parts of the North Sea, in the North Atlantic west of France and Britain. The extent of Arctic sea ice was 10% below average, the second lowest for a July in 47 years of satellite observations, virtually tied with the readings of 2012 and 2021. Diminishing sea ice is a concern not because it adds to sea levels, but because it replaces the snow and ice that reflect almost all the Sun's energy back into space with deep blue ocean, which absorbs it. Ninety percent of the excess heat generated by global warming is absorbed by the oceans. In Antarctica, sea ice extent is the third lowest on record for this month.
The Star
7 days ago
- The Star
95 pct of Scotland's railway network reopened after Storm Floris
LONDON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Across Scotland, 95 percent of the railway network affected by Storm Floris on Monday has now been reopened, Route Director Ross Moran at Network Rail Scotland confirmed on Tuesday. More than 120 incidents and over 100 fallen trees were reported across Scotland's railway network in the past 24 hours, Moran said on social media X. Efforts are still ongoing to restore services on the three lines most severely affected by the storm: Inverness to Aberdeen, the Far North Line, and the Kyle of Lochalsh Line. Britain's Met Office issued amber and yellow wind warnings on Monday as Storm Floris barrels across the north of the country, bringing dangerous winds and heavy rain to millions of residents. Authorities have advised residents in affected areas to remain indoors where possible, secure loose outdoor items, and monitor official weather updates throughout the day. Storm Floris is the sixth named storm of the Britain's 2024/2025 storm season, arriving during what is typically a quieter summer period. Millions were reportedly affected by the storm's impacts.
