Scotland is set for a further hammering when Storm Henry sweeps in
on Monday, bringing treacherous conditions and high winds of up to
90mph.
Train services have been cancelled on the west coast, with five flood warnings and 12 flood alerts being issued across
Scotland.
Ferry
passengers have also been warned to expect widespread disruption, with
at least 11 services cancelled on Monday morning and a further 14
disrupted.
The Forth Road Bridge closed to all traffic at 1.40pm on Monday and but reopened to cars at around 4.15pm.
It is likely to remain closed to pedestrians and cyclists until later on Tuesday.
Restrictions
on high-sided vehicles and double-decker buses are in place on the
Forth Road Bridge, Kessock Bridge, Tay Bridge, Skye Bridge and Dornoch
Bridge due to high winds.
Scottish Hydro Electric has also confirmed it has issued a red alert for possible power outages.
The energy company has already sent technical teams to areas likely
to be affected and moved resources onto islands expected to be cut off
if ferry sailings are cancelled.
The RNLI Portree lifeboat crew
ferried a team of engineers out to the island of Raasay between Skye and
the Scottish mainland on Monday afternoon.
There was disruption
on the Forth Road Bridge at around 10.30am on Monday after a collision
between a camper van, patient transport ambulance and a van on the
southbound carriageway.
A passenger was taken to hospital with
minor injuries. High winds delayed the recovery process, and a fire
engine was parked alongside the cars involved to shield them from the
gusts.
The roof of Kings Park Secondary School in Glasgow suffered damage
due to high winds on Monday afternoon. A spokesman for the city council
confirmed a "phased closure" of the school would be carried out as a
precaution.
A landslip near Letterfinlay in the west Highlands
closed the A82 Fort William to Inverness road in both directions early
on Monday, but was reopened at around 9am.
A van and a lorry were
blown over on the A82 on Monday morning, causing a 70-mile diversion for
all vehicles but cars. A van was also knocked over by high winds on the
Cromarty Bridge, shutting the crossing to motorists.
The latest
severe weather comes just days after Storm Gertrude, which brought gusts
of more than 100mph in places as well as heavy rain and snow.
The Met Office has issued amber "be prepared" alerts for wind covering Scotland from 3pm on Monday until Tuesday morning.
Gusts
of 70mph to 80mph are now expected widely, while 90mph is possible in
the most exposed areas, especially across the Western Isles and along
the west coast.
Warnings for wind at the lesser yellow "be aware"
level are also in place for the whole of the northern UK and Northern
Ireland from Monday morning. Yellow alerts have also been issued for
rain in northern and central areas of Scotland.
STV's weather presenter Sean Batty said that on Monday "winds will
continue to increase as Henry approaches the far north west of the
country".
He added: "An extremely strong core of winds will move
into the Hebrides between 4pm and 9pm. Winds could reach gusts of 80mph
to 85 mph during this period, with a risk of occasional gusts of 90 mph.
"There is scope for geographical errors, but at this stage it
looks like the most likely areas for 90 mph gusts will be across the
Western Isles, Skye, Rum, Eigg and Canna.
"Elsewhere winds will gust 50mph to 60 mph around rush hour and continue to increase during the evening.
"While the worst of the winds will come through later, it’s likely there will be some travel disruption for the evening.
"We
can expect ferry cancellations, especially around the Hebrides, and
restrictions on the bridges. The Skye Bridge will get the worst of the
gusts, and possibly the worst of the disruption.
"Funnelling through the Tay valley could bring some very strong gusts to the Tay Bridge and will be one to watch, too."
Train
operator ScotRail said some of its services will only operate until
early afternoon on Monday before being suspended until the end of the
day.
It means people who use those services in the morning will
have to make alternative arrangements for any same-day return journeys.
The
services being suspended from 2pm are Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh,
the West Highland Line and Glasgow to Killwinning, Ardrossan Harbour and
Largs.
Trains from Helensburgh Central and Dumbarton Central to Edinburgh will be suspended from 3pm.
Jacqueline Taggart, of ScotRail Alliance, said: "Once again we find
ourselves preparing for extreme weather conditions hitting the country.
Last week Storm Gertrude brought incredibly high winds and treacherous
conditions to Scotland - and it looks as though Storm Henry is going to
do the same.
"We have been working closely with the Met Office
and they have advised us that conditions will worsen as the day
progresses. This means that any impact on our services will be felt
later in the day.
"I would really urge people to look at their
travel plans for the whole day. We will be running services in the
morning that, due to Storm Henry, we will be unable to run in the
afternoon. So, please do make arrangements for both your outward and
return journeys."
Caledonian MacBrayne is advising ferry passengers to check ahead for disruptions across its ferry network.
Ross Moran, operations general manager, said: "Storm Henry is set to present significant operational challenges.
"As
with any adverse weather, we would ask passengers to consider whether
their journey is absolutely necessary and to regularly check for route
disruptions across the network."
Scotland's transport minister
Derek Mackay said: "Our Multi-Agency Response Team, based at the
National Traffic Scotland Control Centre, which has been in operation
throughout the weekend, will remain in place to monitor events and
respond as required.
"Our fleet of patrol vehicles and gritters
are treating roads where needed around the clock to help keep roads open
to traffic but quickly changing conditions means journeys could be
disrupted."
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