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Britons are braced for more lashing rain as flood warnings were issued for parts of the country as Storm Clodagh wreaked havoc.
Flights
were diverted, trains delayed and traffic held up on motorways at the
weeknd as heavy rain and strong winds hit Scotland and the north west of
England.
There is little sign of
respite with the Environment Agency issuing yellow flood warnings for
Wales and the north of England for Monday and Tuesday. By Wednesday, two
days of rain could leave parts of north Wales under 60mm of
precipitation.
The north of England
could see 30-40mm of rain during the same period, say the Met Office. A
spokeswoman also warned that parts of Scotland, which is on a yellow
snow warning, could have 2.5cm of snow on Monday.
A
Tynemouth RNLI Lifeboat recovers a small boat in the mouth of the Tyne
after rescuing its participants following its capsizing in gale force
winds Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA
On Sunday in Ireland, thousands of properties were left without electricity after Storm Clodagh battered the republic.
Meanwhile,
coastguards had to pull a windsurfer out of the water at Seaburn Beach,
Sunderland, after he was separated from his board in 60 mph winds. Two
people were rescued from the Tyne by the RNLI after their boat was
capsized by the wind.'
An aurora-hunting north-east photographer has captured a stunning image of a meteorite fireball falling to earth.
Leigh-Ann Mitchell, from Ellon, had been out at the weekend scouring the night skies for any sign of the Northern Lights.
The
self-proclaimed “aurora chaser” settled at Pitfour Estate in Mintlaw,
where she thought she had the best chance of capturing the spectacular
light show.
But the 40-year-old amateur snapper got more than she
bargained for when she captured the moment a fireball from the Taurid
meteor shower fell from the sky, combined with the heavenly aurora glow.
The shower is notorious for producing fireball flares, and experts said this year would be the best chance to witness them yet.
Mrs
Mitchell’s photograph has been viewed thousands of times since it was
taken in the very early hours of Saturday morning, and shared across
social media in every corner of the globe.
A
storm with gales of up to 142mph battered Scotland causing travel
disruption across the country. The weather brought treacherous
conditions for motorists on Thursday morning, which included blowing
over an articulated lorry on the M74 southbound close to Lesmahagow in
South Lanarkshire at around 6am. Earlier, the M74 was blocked nearby at
Happendon after a tree was brought down onto the road amid high winds.
At around 5am the A86 at Kinloch Laggan in Inverness-shire was also
blocked by a fallen tree. The Met Office had put in place amber severe
weather warnings for large parts of the country on Thursday morning,
while a gust of 142mph was recorded at Aonach Mor at the Nevis Ski
Centre at around 6am. The Tay Road Bridge between Dundee and Fife was
closed to all vehicles at around 7am, while the Forth Road Bridge was
open to cars only. The Skye, Dornoch, Kessoch, Erskine and Kincardine
bridges were also shut to traffic for a period on Thursday amid the
windy conditions. Flooding caused by the downpour forced the closure of
the A83 at Inverary in Argyll and Bute, while the A96 was closed in both
directions at Huntly in Aberdeenshire. The A76 between Kirkconnel and
New Cumnock in East Ayrshire was closed due to the adverse weather.
Previously,
ScotRail had cancelled all trains due to depart before 7am, while it is
not expecting to run any services on 22 routes across the country,
including Edinburgh to Perth via Kirkcaldy, Glasgow Central to Edinburgh
via Shotts/Carstairs and Motherwell/Edinburgh to Milngavie. The rail
operator said the step had been taken after speed restrictions put in
place on lines across the country by Network Rail Scotland. STV’s Sean
Batty said the winds would peak between 3am and 9am with gusts of
60-70mph hitting Glasgow and the surrounding area on Thursday morning.
He also revealed a weather buoy around 250 miles west of the Outer
Hebrides recorded 35ft waves. Before the stormy weather hit, Martin
Thomson, winter resilience manager for Transport Scotland, said:
"Transport Scotland is working closely with transport operators, the Met
office and Police Scotland to make sure that the most useful and up to
date information is given to those who need it most. We have held a
number of meetings with key partners and tonight we will activate the
multi-agency response team.
"Traffic Scotland are already
informing the travelling public about the expected difficult conditions
on Thursday morning. The Scottish Government is also monitoring the
situation to assess what impact these warnings will have and stand ready
to respond. "I would also urge the travelling public to consider the
conditions before they set-off on their journeys. They should listen to
radio reports, visit the Traffic Scotland website or twitter feed, and
carefully consider police advice." Chief Superintendent Iain Murray,
head of road policing, Police Scotland, added: "The weather in Scotland
can change very quickly and it’s vital drivers are prepared. In recent
years we have seen high winds, blizzards, snow and freezing conditions.
The next few days is expected to bring with it some strong winds and
severe cold weather and I would advise motorists to take care. Allow
extra time for your journey and a keep a few emergency supplies, such as
water and food in your vehicle to cover any eventualities."
Gale-force
winds hit Scotland on Thursday, causing a fatal truck accident, halting
all trains and leaving tens of thousands of homes without electricity
as much of northwestern Europe braced for a storm that was expected to
bring flooding to coastal areas. Winds gusting up to 142 miles (229
kilometers) per hour were measured overnight in the Scottish Highlands,
and many roads and bridges were closed. All train services in Scotland
were suspended; Network Rail spokesman Nick King said that "there's too
much debris and too much damage to equipment to continue." A truck
driver was killed and four people were injured in an accident west of
Edinburgh when high winds toppled his vehicle onto several cars, police
said. A number of flights serving Scotland were also canceled, and power
companies said up to 100,000 homes were without electricity. Another
7,000 homes were reported without power in Northern Ireland. Glasgow's
central rail station was evacuated after debris smashed glass in the
roof, though no one was hurt.
Lorry driver killed as vehicle overturns and chaos on roads and railways as 100mph storm batters Scotland
SCOTLAND
has been battered by storm-force winds and driving rain today which
left one man dead, left thousands of homes without power and caused
chaos on the roads and railways.
The driver of an HGV has died in an accident on the A801 road outside Bathgate, West Lothian
A LORRY driver has died and more than 60,000 homes have been left without power as gale force winds battered Scotland.
The man was killed when his HGV was blown onto cars near Bathgate in West Lothian.
Four
other people were treated for minor injuries after the lorry overturned
on the A801 one mile north of Boghead roundabout at around 8.10am.
The road was closed and police have appealed for witnesses.
Scotland's
rail network was shut down at 8am and only partially reopened at 1.30pm
and drivers are being warned of "extremely poor" road conditions.
Gusts of more than 140mph were recorded overnight at Aonach Mor near Fort William in the Highlands, the Met Office said.
Speeds of 93mph were recorded at Altnaharra, rising to 106mph at Glen Ogle.
Winds reached 59mph in Edinburgh and 63mph in Glasgow. A 61-year-old man was struck by a falling tree in the Meadows in Edinburgh and was taken to the city's Royal Infirmary. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
A tree also fell on a car in the city's Quality Street but no one was hurt.
A woman was taken to Hairmyres Hospital in South Lanarkshire after a tree fell on a taxi in Bothwell Road, Hamilton.
Part of the roof around the helipad at Southern General Hospital in Glasgow was blown away by the severe wind.
Glasgow
Central station had to be evacuated when debris smashed glass in the
roof. No one was hurt and arriving passengers were escorted from the
station. The station has since been reopened.
Police Scotland reported an explosion at an electricity substation in Coatbridge. No one was hurt.
Lorries were blown over on the M74 at Douglas, South Lanarkshire, and on the A83 at Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll and Bute.
First Minister Alex Salmond said the Scottish Government's resilience operation is underway.
Transport Minister Keith Brown is in the Transport Scotland control room where he will remain until the emergency passes.
Speaking
during First Minister's Questions at the Scottish Parliament, Mr
Salmond said: "I can confirm to the chamber there has been one reported
fatality, weather related, in Scotland. There have been
a number of injuries, thankfully none of them yet reported as serious.
There has been significant disruption to road, rail and ferry
infrastructure."
He
praised the work of the emergency services in responding to the severe
weather, just days after they dealt with a major incident in Glasgow,
when a police helicopter crashed into a pub killing nine people.
"In
light of the tragedy at the Clutha bar, we've had very good reason, all
of us, to pay tribute to the outstanding work of our emergency
services," he said.
"I can reassure the chamber that that work is on again today as we respond to the ongoing emergency of the weather conditions."
Motorists were advised not to travel this morning because of the "extremely dangerous" road conditions.
Transport
Scotland escalated its travel warning to stage-four red, advising
people to avoid using roads particularly in high-sided vehicles.
Closures,
fallen trees, minor accidents and flash flooding have affected much of
the road network, particularly in the south, west, central and
Perthshire areas.
Many bridges have been closed or restricted to
traffic, including the Forth Road Bridge, A898 Erskine Bridge, Dornoch
Bridge, Skye Bridge and Tay Road Bridge.
As the winds subsided in
some parts of the country, police reduced their warning to motorists but
said a high risk of disruption remains. Read More Here
.....
Scotland starts to clear up damage left by 100mph winds
Rail network, schools and bridges close and lorry driver is killed as forecasters warn harsh weather could continue overnight
Rain sweeps through Glasgow, where debris smashed part of the rail station's glass roof. Photograph: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images
Workers across Scotland
have been clearing debris and repairing damage after winds of over
100mph shut down the country's rail network, closed schools and bridges,
damaged property and left at least one person dead.
A
lorry driver on the A706 was killed after a vehicle overturned on top of
two cars at the Bogton roundabout in Bathgate, West Lothian, at 8.10am
on Thursday. A second person has been killed in Retford in
Nottinghamshire.
Train travel has been severely disrupted
north of the border, with Network Rail closing the entire Scottish rail
network early on Thursday morning because of the high winds and debris
on railway lines. Commuters were left unable to make their journeys to
work, and some passengers were left stranded at stations when their
trains were cancelled mid-journey.
A spokesman for the
train operator Scotrail said: "We have had to bring trains into stations
and we have tried to ensure that passengers on those trains are as
comfortable as possible. We have been giving them teas and coffees and
trying to help them complete their journey by taxi wherever possible.
"We
have tried to provide alternative transport, but that's difficult today
because obviously the road networks are also being affected by the weather."
Glasgow
Central station was also closed to the public after flying debris
shattered part of the building's glass roof. The station has since
re-opened. Scotrail tweeted that services between Glasgow and
Motherwell, East Kilbride and Barrhead are now running again as are
services between North Berwick and Edinburgh. Sleeper services are also
set to run as normal, although Scotrail advises passengers to check
before making their journeys.
On Scotland's roads, drivers
faced bridge closures and danger from debris. The Forth road bridge,
Friarton bridge in Perth and Erskine bridge in Renfrewshire were all
closed to traffic while police in Aberdeenshire warned of road closures
after the river Dee burst its banks.
Seawater cooling system of Torness in East Lothian has become
clogged with seaweed for the second time this year. A nuclear reactor
near Edinburgh shut down on Thursday because its seawater cooling system
became clogged with seaweed. This is the second time this year that
reactors at Torness in East Lothian have been forced to close because of
excessive seaweed. In 2011 it was closed by a swarm of jellyfish.
Reactors need large amounts of water in order to keep them cool, and to
prevent them from overheating. Seawater for cooling at Torness is
filtered, but when the filters get clogged, reactors have to be shut
down as a safety precaution. The station's operator, EDF Energy, has
said that one of the two 640-megawatt reactors at Torness was shut down
in the early hours of this morning. It is expected to remain closed for
the next seven days. "We took reactor 2 offline at 02:20 this morning
due to increased seaweed ingress as a result of the weather conditions
in the area," said the nuclear station's director, Paul Winkle. "We are
aware that at certain times of year with particular weather conditions
in this part of the Forth estuary, seaweed volumes can increase and
enter the station's cooling water intake system." Torness staff were
trained to respond to this situation by taking reactors offline if
necessary, he said. "In addition, the many-layered safety systems
monitor conditions like this and the plant's inbuilt mechanisms will
take the unit offline automatically."
.....
Seaweed shuts down Scottish nuclear reactor
Seawater cooling system of Torness in East Lothian has become clogged with seaweed for the second time this year
Torness nuclear power plant, seen from Skateraw Bay near Dunbar in East Lothian, Scotland. Photograph: Gary Doak/Alamy
A nuclear reactor near Edinburgh shut down on Thursday because its seawater cooling system became clogged with seaweed.
This is the second time this year that reactors at Torness in East Lothian have been forced to close because of excessive seaweed. In 2011 it was closed by a swarm of jellyfish.
Reactors
need large amounts of water in order to keep them cool, and to prevent
them from overheating. Seawater for cooling at Torness is filtered, but
when the filters get clogged, reactors have to be shut down as a safety
precaution.
The station's operator, EDF Energy,
has said that one of the two 640-megawatt reactors at Torness was shut
down in the early hours of this morning. It is expected to remain closed
for the next seven days.
"We took reactor 2 offline at
02:20 this morning due to increased seaweed ingress as a result of the
weather conditions in the area," said the nuclear station's director,
Paul Winkle.
"We are aware that at certain times of year
with particular weather conditions in this part of the Forth estuary,
seaweed volumes can increase and enter the station's cooling water
intake system."
Torness staff were trained to respond to
this situation by taking reactors offline if necessary, he said. "In
addition, the many-layered safety systems monitor conditions like this
and the plant's inbuilt mechanisms will take the unit offline
automatically."
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