Major Scots road CLOSED both ways due to several fallen trees from Storm Floris as drivers warned ‘avoid the area'

Scottish Sun

6 days ago

The A96 has been shut in both directions near Old Rayne, Aberdeenshire, this afternoon
ROAD BLOCK Major Scots road CLOSED both ways due to several fallen trees from Storm Floris as drivers warned 'avoid the area'
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A BUSY road has been closed due to fallen trees as Storm Floris grips the country.
Powerful winds are battering Scotland today amid two Met Office weather warnings.
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The A96 near Old Rayne in Aberdeenshire has been closed due to fallen trees
Credit: Google Maps
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Strong winds have sparked travel disruption across the country
Credit: Getty
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Two Met Office weather warnings for wind are active until tonight
Credit: MET Office
The A96 has been shut in both directions near Old Rayne, Aberdeenshire, this afternoon.
Cops have warned drivers to avoid the area and motorists travelling between Huntly and Inverurie should use alternative routes.
Police have also urged the public to plan ahead and consider postponing travel until the weather improves.
Elsewhere, a number of campervans have been blown over on the Isle of Skye
Officers have received reports of incidents on the A87 between Broadford and Portree.
Police are urging motorists not to travel on the Bealach na Ba road on the Applecross peninsula.
They have also urged campervan drivers to stay put in sheltered areas until the wind speed drops.
The Met Office has a yellow weather warning for wind in place between 6am and midnight.
A separate amber alert for wind is active between 10am and 11pm.
Another yellow warning for wind has been issued for Orkney and Shetland between midnight and 8am tomorrow.
Storm Floris LIVE- Scotland braces for 90mph battering as amber 'danger to life' warning issued & trains axed
Storm Floris has already wreaked havoc with transport across Scotland.
On the rail network, blanket 50mph speed restrictions are in place across the country.
ScotRail has warned passengers that due to this, "significantly fewer" service will operate throughout the day.
Some lines will be shut, while on other routes services will stop around lunchtime.
Once the storm has passed, Network Rail engineers will inspect closed lines for any damage.
Passengers have been advised that services will begin later on Tuesday across affected routes.
Ferry services on Scotland's west coast have already been thrown into turmoil.
Several CalMac sailings have been disrupted, while some have been cancelled altogether.
Passengers have been urged to check the operator's website or social media for service status and updates.
Some flights from Glasgow Airport have also been axed amid the unsettled conditions.
Earlier on, Loganair cancelled its departures to Islay, Campbeltown, Tiree and Barra.
Citylink bus services are so far unaffected and operating as planned across the country.
Met Office weather forecaster, Aidan McGivern, told BBC Radio Scotland: "Storm Floris is deepening very rapidly right now out to the west of Scotland and it's expected to bring its worst winds to the Western Isles and the west coast mid to late morning.
"It will travel across the north of Scotland later in the day, affecting parts of Caithness, Orkney, northeastern parts of Aberdeenshire. That's where the strongest winds will be, late afternoon, early evening.
"It's the next few hours we're expecting it to arrive and it will slowly move across the country during the rest of the day.
"The whole of Scotland will be affected by very strong winds, unusually strong winds. We're talking about widely 50, 60, perhaps 70mph wind gusts across the whole of Scotland. But there will be a narrow swathe of strong winds, which at the moment looking at the way Storm Floris is deepening, it's on track to hit parts of North and South Uist, perhaps into Lewis, Rum and Skye."
He added: "It's taking the track that we were expecting and it's this narrow swathe of very strong wind gusts, 80 to 90mph wind gusts, that's the greatest cause for concern for Storm Floris."
Cabinet Secretary Angela Constance said: "The Scottish Government and our partners, whether that's Transport Scotland, Police Scotland, our local, regional and resilience partnerships, have all been engaged in preparations since Friday.
"It's imperative that government and our partners act swiftly to get messages out to raise awareness that Storm Floris was coming. and indeed Storm Floris is will and truly with us today. It's imperative that people follow advice because there will be significant disruption on our travel network.
"It's imperative that people keep informed and avoid travel if you can. But you have to travel, please plan ahead.
"This may be August, this is summer. But this is unusual weather, even for a Scottish summer, so people have to plan ahead and stay safe."
Ms Constance urged people to avoid travel if possible adding: "There are particular dangers associated with high winds.
"That makes some vehicles, high-sided vehicles, motorcycles and indeed pedestrians… travel, it's not without its risks."
She also said the government's resilience room had been activated and that it will be watching "extremely closely" if there are any concerns around "care for people", as well as any impact on power lines.
Police Scotland has also issued a warning for drivers as hazardous conditions are expected on some roads.
A statement from the force said: "There is a high risk of disruption and travel conditions may be hazardous. Extra caution should be taken by all road users.
"Plan ahead and avoid unnecessary travel. Consider delaying travel until conditions improve.
"If you are travelling on the roads, prepare yourself and your vehicle for the conditions."
Storm Floris is the first named storm to hit Scotland since Storm Eowyn in January.
Keep up to date with our Storm Floris live blog.