Storm Amy: Fresh amber warning as more travel disruption expected
Storm Amy is expected to cause more issues for Scots on Saturday following travel chaos, power cuts and floods the night before.
The north of Scotland will face a new amber warning for “damaging” winds with gusts of more than 90mph in some areas.
Most of Scotland, apart from the east coast, will be covered by a yellow warning for rain while a yellow wind alert will be in place across the entire UK.
Further travel chaos is likely following widespread disruption on Friday when several flights, rail and ferry services were cancelled.
A building collapsed in Glasgow on Friday, falling onto a car, and leading to road closures in the city centre.
Power cuts were also reported in the Highlands and some islands – the areas facing some of the worst weather.
Road closures also impacted drivers and the Forth Road Bridge was shut to all traffic.
The Tay Road Bridge reopened early on Saturday with a 30ph speed restriction and remained closed to high-sided vehicles, as were the Skye Bridge, Queensferry Crossing and Clackmannanshire Bridge.
CalMac Ferries said it expected many services to be disrupted on Saturday, with many routes cancelled, and into Sunday.
The Scottish Government urged people to delay travel if they can and to check ahead if heading out.
On Sunday, the north, north east, Orkney and Shetlands islands will also continue to fall under a yellow warning for wind until 9am that morning.
Network Rail said the storm had a greater impact than predicted.
The transport organisation said: “Storm Amy has hit parts of the country much harder and more quickly than expected.
“We have experienced over 60 incidents on the network during the first two hours of the storm, with flooding, trees falling on to the overhead lines and debris on the tracks.
“The safety of passengers and colleagues is priority, which is why all services to and from Glasgow Central have been suspended at this time.
“We have crews out surveying damage where it is safe to do so and we will do our best to clear lines overnight, but we do expect some disruption tomorrow morning.
“We apologise to people who were wishing to travel tonight and now need to make alternative arrangements.”
The Met Office said: “Storm Amy is expected to bring a spell of strong winds to many parts of northern and western Britain later on Friday and overnight into Saturday.
“South to south-westerly winds will increase during Friday, initially in the west before extending eastwards during Friday night.
“Gusts of 50-60 mph are likely in many areas, and may reach 60-70 mph in more exposed parts.
“The strongest winds are most likely across portions of northern and western Scotland, where gusts in excess of 90 mph are possible – this is covered by a separate amber warning for the Friday night period.
“The very strong winds will also be accompanied by spells of heavy rain, with difficult driving conditions likely, especially for high-sided vehicles on prone routes, such as crosswinds on exposed or high level routes.
“Winds will ease for most parts through Saturday afternoon, but will continue to be very strong for the Northern Isles and parts of the far north of Scotland through to the end of Saturday, before slowly easing overnight.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub
