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Storm Ashley live updates: Rail and flight delays continue due to 80mph winds
Storm Ashley has battered parts of the country with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain as more flights and trains are cancelled.
As the storm passed over the Scottish Highlands on Sunday night, average wind speeds hit 85mph with gusts of at least 111mph provisionally recorded at the summit of Cairn Gorm.
Speed restrictions are in place on rail lines across Scotland due to the high winds, while flights continued to be impacted at Aberdeen Airport this morning. At least four have been cancelled, including one bound for London Heathrow Airport.
In England, National Rail said Northern services between Bolton and Blackburn were being blocked by a tree on the line this morning.
The Environment Agency had 45 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, in place across England on Monday, including along the south Cornwall coast and large parts of the River Severn, after the river burst its banks, submerging the town of Worcester, the previous day.
A further 96 places were kept on high alert overnight with possible flooding – while, in Scotland, the Scottish Environment Flood Agency had 47 flood warnings in place, with eight issued by Natural Resources Wales.
Flood warnings end across UK
Dozens of flood warnings announced by the Met Office after Storm Ashley hit the UK have now ended.
The Met Office has removed all its weather warnings for today.
Tom Watling21 October 2024 10:58
Storm Ashley brings rail, road and air chaos as UK on high alert over flood warnings
Tom Watling21 October 2024 10:29
Watch: Planes landing at Heathrow Airport face wrath of Storm Ashley’s 80mph winds
Watch: Planes landing at Heathrow Airport face wrath of Storm Ashley’s 80mph winds
Planes at Heathrow Airport have been seen getting blown around by the 80mph winds of Storm Ashley this morning (20 October). A number of flights from the like of BA and Virgin Atlantic were seen by Big Jet TV making their approach, sometimes sideways, before struggling to touch down in the bluster. Storm Ashley is “likely” to bring a threat of injuries and danger to life, the Met Office has said, with weather warnings issued across the UK. The storm is the first named storm of the year.
Tom Watling21 October 2024 10:01
In pictures: People struggle with the winds of Storm Ashley
Tom Watling21 October 2024 09:31
Storm Ashley mapped: Where and when are ‘danger to life’ weather warnings in force across UK?
Tom Watling21 October 2024 08:59
Scottish ferries disrupted by Storm Ashley
Ferry passengers in western and northern Scotland are facing a second day of disruption due to the impact of Storm Ashley and issues with the overstretched fleet of ships.
Caledonian MacBrayne has cancelled all ferries between Oban, Barra and South Uist today, as well as from Mallaig to Armadale on the island of Skye.
Between Bute and the mainland, ferries that normally serve Wemyss Bay are being diverted to Gourock instead.
Storm damage at Uig on the isle of Skye means ferries to and from Tarbert on the isle of Harris and Lochmaddy on North Uist may instead divert to Ullapool.
Northlink Ferries connecting Orkney and Shetland with mainland Scotland are being delayed, with the Stromness to Scrabster link operating around five hours behind schedule. The afternoon’s sailing from Lerwick to Kirkwall and Aberdeen has been brought forward by an hour “due to the adverse weather”.
Tom Watling21 October 2024 08:33
Met Office’s upcoming UK weather forecast
The Met Office said winds will ease slightly as Storm Ashley moves north-east on Monday, with a mix of scattered showers and sunny spells expected in its wake.
More frequent rain may be expected in the south-east.
The weather is likely to turn “unsettled” later in the week, bringing possible heavy rain and strong winds once more.
Tara Cobham21 October 2024 08:02
More than 100 flood alerts remain in place across UK
More than 100 flood warnings remained in place across the UK on Monday after Storm Ashley made its presence felt.
A yellow weather alert for wind, issued by the Met Office, was in place until 9am on Monday morning across the north and east of Scotland and northeast.
The notice warned travellers to brace for potential power cuts and longer journey times.
The first named storm of the season also forced the postponement of several sporting fixtures.
The Environment Agency had 45 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, in place across England, including along the south Cornwall coast and large parts of the River Severn.
A further 96 places were kept on high alert overnight with possible flooding.
In Scotland, the Scottish Environment Flood Agency had 47 flood warnings in place with eight issued by Natural Resources Wales.
Several roads in the north of England, including the A66 between County Durham and the M6 at Cumbria were reopened early Monday morning after being closed due to strong winds
Tens of thousands of homes remained without power on Sunday night after Storm Ashley swept across the island of Ireland.
Dublin and the Irish west coast also experienced significant outages on Sunday night.
The number without power had been 53,000 earlier in the day.
Tara Cobham21 October 2024 07:45
Full report: Tens of thousands remain without power after Storm Ashley hits island of Ireland
Tens of thousands of homes remained without power on Sunday night after Storm Ashley swept across the island of Ireland.
In the Republic of Ireland, ESB Networks said 29,000 customers were without power as of 8.30pm on Sunday. The west coast was worst affected although north Dublin also experienced significant outages.
The number without power had been 53,000 earlier in the day.
In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks said that at 9.45pm fewer than 1,500 customers remained without power, with the majority of those set to be connected later on Sunday night. It said power had already been restored to more than 10,000 customers who lost supply earlier in the day.
Andy Gregory21 October 2024 07:00
Scottish islands cut off due to Storm Ashley
Ferry operator CalMac – which serves the west coast of Scotland – cancelled the majority of sailings for the day on Sunday, with the islands of Arran, Bute, Lewis and Harris being cut off as a result of adverse conditions at sea caused by the high winds.
Andy Gregory21 October 2024 06:00