Weather warning lifted as third storm to hit Scotland eases off

A weather warning put in place as a third storm in a matter of days hit Scotland has now been lifted.

Thousands of homes across the country remain without power in the aftermath of Storm Boelo and several days of high winds and heavy rain.

A yellow wind warning, covering most of the country as well as parts of northern England and Northern Ireland, came into effect at 03:00 but was lifted at18:00.

The latest weather system has not been as widely disruptive as Storm Boelo – or Storm Austen which came before it.

Storm Boelo brought heavy flooding and wind gusts in some areas of up to 85mph (137km/h) on Monday.

The Met Office said gusts of up to 65mph (105km/h) would hit coastal communities in the south-west on Monday evening and into the morning.

Forecasters added strong winds would be accompanied by heavy rain at certain points.

A gust of 76mph (122km/h) was recorded at Stornoway Airport on Tuesday and one of 71mph (114km/h) on Tiree, according to the Met Office.

A person was reportedly swept out to sea in Largs on Monday night, after large waves struck the Ayrshire coast.

The coastguard, police, fire service and RNLI lifeboats were involved in an extensive search, which has now been halted. No-one was found.

A 60-year-old man died after being struck by a falling tree at Mid Kelton, near Castle Douglas, in Dumfries and Galloway on Sunday.

Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN), which covers the north of Scotland, said work was ongoing to reconnect the supplies of about 5,700 homes that remained without power.

Meanwhile, Scottish Power Energy Networks (Spen) said all but a “very small number” of its 50,000 customers who lost power in Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway would have it restored by 02:00 on Tuesday.

Almost 100,000 homes had power restored in both areas across the weekend.

ScotRail said the “vast majority” of its services were running as normal.

However, it warned that speed restrictions would be in place on several routes on Tuesday due to heavy rainfall. They are:

West coast ferry operator CalMac said many its services remained liable to disruption or cancellation at short notice and urged travellers to check its website for updates.

Passengers on NorthLink Ferries were advised that there was the “possibility of disruption” to services until Thursday because of the weather.

Loganair said its operations at all Scottish airports had been affected and some flights had been cancelled due to the yellow weather warning.

All schools and nurseries in the Western Isles will be shut until Wednesday at the earliest.

Ellon Academy will reopen on Wednesday after being closed on Monday and Tuesday as a result of damage caused by the storm.

Banchory Academy, which was closed due to an issue with the school building, will also to reopen on Wednesday.

It comes after more than a dozen primary schools in Aberdeenshire and Rothiemay Primary School, in Moray, were closed on Monday due to a lack of power.

Thirty primary schools and six secondary schools across the Highlands were also subject to full or partial closures.

Lockerbie Campus – including Lockerbie Academy, learning centre, primary school and nursery – in Dumfries and Galloway is closed due to heating failure, while schools in St John’s Town of Dalry have not opened as a result of roof damage.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) said it had put an amber risk of flooding in place for the northern and Western Isles and Caithness and Sutherland.

Sepa said areas of the southwest and Argyll, including the Solway Firth and Firth of Clyde, would experience volatile conditions, with large waves and strong winds.

They said flooding of low-lying land was likely.

Highland Council said flood gates on the mile-long Caol and Lochyside flood protection scheme, near Fort William, had been closed following a warning from Sepa.

In Orkney, Police Scotland have closed the Churchill Barriers causeways which connect the mainland to the islands of South Ronaldsay, Burray, Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm.

The main road through the village of St Mary’s Holm has also been closed due to flooding caused by high winds and high tide.

Police Scotland said a high risk of disruption remained with poor weather conditions expected on Tuesday.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Mark Sutherland said that, although the amber weather warning was no longer in place, disruption was “likely well beyond that due to further poor weather, fallen trees and other damage caused by the storm”.

Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told BBC Scotland News there were “challenges ahead” due to the prolonged nature of the conditions.

She urged councils to review their readiness, adding authorities were working to ensure that “everything that can be done is being done”.

Somerville also said that everyone can play a part by getting “households as resilient as we can, as well as looking after neighbours and friends”.