A clean-up operation in the wake of Storm Éowyn can fully begin after people across Scotland were urged to stay indoors as hurricane-force winds battered the country. Thousands of residents were left without power, with several road closures and widespread disruption to public transport also reported.
Police Scotland said officers had responded to 1,500 weather-related incidents across the country while the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had responded to around 300 incidents. The highest wind speed was recorded in Drumalbin, South Lanarkshire, with gusts of 100mph.
Prior to that, 95mph winds had been noted at the Forth Road Bridge. All trains north of the border were suspended, hundreds of schools were shut and motorists were warned not to drive in or to a red weather warning area covering the central belt.
Network Rail Scotland said nearly 400 “incidents of damage” had been reported, including more than 120 reports of fallen trees. Overhead cables also caught fire at Dunblane railway station after being struck by a tree.
ScotRail said the storm has caused significant damage to infrastructure and Network Rail would need to carry out a full assessment of the network, remove debris and undertake repairs before services can resume on Saturday.
Buses were widely disrupted across Scotland and many ferry services were cancelled. Calmac said sailings will remain cancelled until at least 10am on Saturday. The Tay Road Bridge was closed in both directions while the Forth Road, Erskine and Clackmannanshire bridges were also shut, and the Queensferry Crossing was open to cars only.
SP Energy Networks said its engineers had restored power to more than 21,000 customers but another 1,245 were still waiting to be reconnected shortly before 8pm on Friday night. Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said supplies had been restored to around 60,000 customers but 37,320 were still cut off as of 9.30pm.
Many buildings also sustained structural damage, with shocking footage showing some buildings with damage to their roofs or brickwork. Both Ibrox and Celtic Park were battered by the winds, with Celtic’s clash with Dundee thrown into jeopardy.
Schools and nurseries across Scotland were closed while non-urgent planned hospital procedures were postponed in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian. Glasgow and Edinburgh airports also saw dozens of flights cancelled and some arrivals diverted on Friday morning due to the weather conditions.
The rare Met Office red warning ran until 5pm on Friday and covered the central belt including Glasgow and Edinburgh, stretching north on the west coast to Jura in Argyll and Bute. It originally stretched south to Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway but at around 11am on Friday this was extended to cover most of Dumfries and Galloway.
A yellow warning of wind covering the whole of Scotland was in force until midnight, an amber warning of wind south of Mull in the west to Montrose in the east was in force until 9pm, and an amber wind warning for northern Scotland will remain in force until 6am on Saturday.
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