logo
Roads and railways shut by Storm Floris as high winds batter UK

Roads and railways shut by Storm Floris as high winds batter UK

Yahoo13 hours ago
Storm Floris has brought travel disruption to northern parts of the UK, with roads and railway lines blocked by fallen trees amid high winds.
Gusts of about 85mph are expected in exposed parts of the country as the storm moves northward throughout Monday.
In Scotland, police have warned drivers to stay away from two roads in Aberdeenshire and the Western Highlands – which were blocked by fallen trees and overturned campervans respectively.
Bridges such as the A9 Dornoch Bridge, Highlands, and the A1 Tyne Bridge in East Lothian were also closed due to high winds.
A number of rail lines in Scotland were blocked by fallen trees, including one near Cornton in Stirling which landed on overhead wires.
Crews were also called out to cut back fallen trees from the line near Giffnock, East Renfrewshire.
A yellow warning for wind for northern parts of the UK became active at 6am on Monday, lasting until 6am on Tuesday.
Central and northern Scotland are covered by a more serious amber warning from 10am to 10pm on Monday.
A number of train services were halted at midday and ferry sailings have been cancelled.
Train operator LNER has told passengers not to travel north of Newcastle while Avanti West Coast has advised passengers not to travel north of Preston, warning it will be 'heavily impacted' by the weather.
On Monday afternoon, a number of roads were blocked by the storm, including: the A96 in Aberdeenshire, the A87 and the A82 in the western Highlands.
The west of Scotland saw heavy rain early on Monday morning, with winds picking up later in the day.
Western coastal areas are expected to bear the brunt of the storm.
Storm Floris has also impacted Edinburgh's busy festival period, with the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo cancelling its Monday performance.
A Scottish Government minister said it is 'imperative' that people follow advice as Storm Floris hits the country.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland news programme: 'Storm Floris is well and truly with us today and it's imperative that people follow advice because there will be significant disruption on our travel network.'
She said anyone who has to travel is likely to face disruption and should plan ahead, adding: 'Consider this a winter journey as opposed to a summer journey.
'Please make sure you've got warm clothes, food, water, plenty of fuel and that your mobile phone is charged up.'
Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: 'Across the warning area, many inland areas are likely to see gusts of 40-50mph, with 60-70mph more likely at higher elevations and around exposed coasts in Scotland.
'There is a small chance that some locations here could even record gusts of 85mph.'
The strongest winds will most likely affect Scotland on Monday afternoon and night but 'there remains some uncertainty in the depth and track of Floris', a spokesperson added.
'Winds will first ease in the west later during Monday but remaining very strong overnight until early Tuesday in the east.
'Heavy rain may also contribute to the disruption in places.'
The warning zone covers Scotland, parts of Northern Ireland, north Wales and the north of England.
Storm Floris is the sixth named storm of the 2024-25 naming season, which runs from early September to late August.
January's Storm Eowyn was the most recent.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Scottish Government holds emergency meeting over Storm Floris disruption
Scottish Government holds emergency meeting over Storm Floris disruption

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Scottish Government holds emergency meeting over Storm Floris disruption

The Scottish Government has held an emergency meeting in response to the 'significant disruption' caused by Storm Floris across the country, including 119 rail incidents. On Monday night, the Scottish Government's Resilience Room held the meeting to help decide an appropriate response to the storm, which has led to power outages, delays in exam results being delivered to pupils and travel disruption, amid other issues. During the meeting, ministers heard that utilities companies are working to reconnect properties experiencing power outages. The meeting was attended by justice and home affairs secretary Angela Constance, transport secretary Fiona Hyslop, cabinet secretary for health and social care Neil Gray and climate action and energy secretary Gillian Martin. They were joined by representatives from the Met Office, Police Scotland, Transport Scotland, SEPA, transport and utilities companies and further resilience partners. The Transport Scotland Resilience Room and the Multi-Agency Response Team remain activated to monitor and report on conditions throughout the duration of the storm. Trunk road companies are continuing to remove fallen trees and debris from damaged infrastructure from roads, and have engaged specialist resources to assist. The Scottish Government said there have been 119 incidents on the rail network caused by Storm Floris, including 75 tree-related incidents. Of those, 85% were due to third party trees. With winds of up to 90mph in some parts of the country, a significant clear-up job will be required to inspect lines and carry out repair work before it is safe to restore a full service. ScotRail is urging customers to check their journey via the app, website or JourneyCheck before they travel. The train operator will also provide updates across social media channels throughout the night. Following the meeting, Ms Constance said: 'As expected, there has been significant disruption, particularly across the travel networks. 'We are still in an amber warning, and the advice remains to stay well informed, keep yourselves and others safe and avoid travel if you can, until the danger has passed. 'Power cuts are affecting a significant number of properties, and while utilities companies are working hard to reconnect supply in the face of challenging conditions, this will undoubtedly take some time to complete. 'The weather is expected to improve tomorrow, but the recovery period – both to reconnect homes to power and get transport back to normal – will require some time to clear the debris. 'We will continue to receive updates throughout Tuesday and will have a better idea on public transport tomorrow morning.' On X, Network Rail said it has 'worked closely with all train operators' to co-ordinate the railway's response to the storm. The railway operator added: 'We've been working around the clock to keep services moving today. 'Our teams will continue inspecting routes for #StormFloris damage overnight, but this will continue into Tuesday morning.' Network Rail previously said it is working 'tirelessly' to clear routes blocked by falling trees and debris, and that disruption was likely to continue into Tuesday. However, some checks will need to be carried out on Tuesday morning. Rail, road and ferry travel were disrupted and festival events cancelled as Storm Floris swept across Scotland, bringing with it heavy rain and strong gusts. Disruption on the railways has left passengers facing multiple cancellations, while a number of roads around the country have been blocked. Western coastal areas are bearing the brunt of the summer storm but strong winds and heavy rain are affecting much of the rest of the country. As of 11.30pm on Monday, a yellow weather warning from the Met Office was in place in Scotland until 8am on Tuesday. Police previously said they had received 'multiple reports' of campervans being blown over on the A87 between Broadford and Portree on Skye, while in Aberdeenshire the A96 is closed in both directions near Old Rayne because of several fallen trees.

When next storm likely to hit UK and what it will be called
When next storm likely to hit UK and what it will be called

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

When next storm likely to hit UK and what it will be called

Parts of the UK have been battered by Storm Floris today which saw trees toppled and disruption caused to flights and rail services. It was the sixth storm to hit the UK in the 2024/25 season but its timing was called "unseasonably disruptive" by the Met Office. That's because storms are more likely to hit in the autumn and winter months as opposed to summer. READ MORE: UK 7-day heatwave 'days away' after Storm Floris batters country Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join The last storm to hit the UK was Storm Éowyn which made landfall back in January. With the autumn season starting on September 1, it's more likely that we'll see storms arrive after then. Since the Met Office began naming storms back in 2015, in partnership with Met Éireann in Ireland, and KNMI in the Netherlands, there have been 77 storms that have taken place - but only eight have occurred in the summer. Professor Suzanne Gray, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading, said: "While named storms are more common in the autumn and winter months, named storms do occur in the summer months. "In 2024, we had storm Lilian in August (one of 12 named storms in 2023-24) and in 2023 we had storms Antoni and Betty in August (two of the four named storms in 2022-23). "Of the 77 named storms that have hit the UK since the Met Office first began naming storms in 2015-16, eight have occurred in the summer months of June-August." Each season, the Met Office publishes a list of storm names running in alphabetical order, however it misses out the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z. Next in line on the list is Gerben, following on from Floris. However the Met Office publishes a new list of names each September, to run for the following year. That means if no storm arrives before then, the next storm to arrive could feature a name starting with A. Explaining more information about the alphabet system, a Met Office spokesperson said: "Since Name our Storms first launched in 2015 we have issued a new list of names each September. "The list runs from early September to late August the following year, to coincide with the start of autumn and the end of summer, when we see the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for named storms increase. "The naming of storms using a single authoritative system provides a consistent message and aids the communication of approaching severe weather through media partners and other government agencies. "In this way the public will be better placed to keep themselves, their property and businesses safe."

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store