Storm Amy: Strong winds and heavy rain bring travel disruption

Strong winds and heavy rain were causing further disruption as Storm Amy hit large parts of the UK on Saturday.

Much of the country was covered by weather alerts with wind gusts coming close to 100mph on Friday night.

The Met Office said the highest recorded gust on Friday was at Tiree in the Hebrides at 96mph, while a provisional October wind gust record for Northern Ireland was set as 92mph winds were measured at Magilligan in Co Londonderry.

The north of Scotland was covered by an amber warning for wind until 9pm on Saturday with yellow warnings covering the whole of Scotland, the north of England and north Wales until the end of the day. A further yellow warning for wind runs until 7pm in the rest of England and Wales.

Further yellow warnings for rain are in place in north and west Scotland until midnight and in Northern Ireland until noon.

Traffic Scotland reported a lengthy list of road closures due to the bad weather with the Forth Road Bridge closed in both directions, while the Skye Bridge, Queensferry Crossing and Clackmannanshire Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles.

The Tay Road Bridge reopened early on Saturday with a 30mph speed restriction and remained closed to high-sided vehicles.

The M9 eastbound near Stirling was among many stretches of roads closed because of falling trees, while the A78 at Skelmorlie has reopened after being closed for a spell overnight because of flooding.

ScotRail anticipated that some disruption to services would extend into Saturday, and possibly Sunday, while Network Rail carries out safety checks for obstructions on the line and damage to any infrastructure. National Rail warned of possible disruptions throughout the UK on Saturday.

All services via Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street were suspended on Friday night and are not expected to operate until at least lunchtime on Saturday.

Network Rail Scotland route director Ross Moran said more than 60 incidents of flooding, fallen trees and debris on the tracks were reported across the network in the first two hours of the storm.

“Storm Amy has hit parts of the country much harder and more quickly than expected,” he said.

Avanti West Coast warned of “short-notice changes” on Saturday and “strongly recommended” customers making journeys north of Preston to check for updates before travelling.

CalMac Ferries said it expected many services to be disrupted on Saturday, with many routes cancelled, and into Sunday.

The M48 Severn Bridge between Gloucestershire and Wales was closed overnight because of high winds while parts of the A19 Tees Viaduct, the A66 in Cumbria and the A628 near Manchester were closed to high-sided vehicles.

Belfast International Airport said it was expecting delays on Saturday and advised passengers to check with airlines.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 30 flood warnings in place on Saturday, with the Environment Agency issuing six in the north of England and one in north Wales from Natural Resources Wales.

On Friday, a man in his 40s died in a weather-related incident in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, Ireland, gardai said.

On Friday, around 234,000 properties were left without power across the island of Ireland on Friday as the storm brought widespread disruption.

The Republic of Ireland’s forecasting agency issued its highest-level wind warning in Co Donegal on Friday, where residents were advised to shelter in place between 4pm and 6pm.

The Met Office said wind and rain was expected to ease throughout the evening for much of the country, but severe gales are forecast to continue in north east Scotland with a yellow warning for wind in place from midnight until 9am on Sunday, covering the Orkney and Shetland Islands, Highlands, Aberdeenshire and Moray.

Sunday is expected to turn dry and less windy with sunny spells for most areas, but outbreaks of rain developing in the north west.