Shocking footage of devastation across the UK has emerged as Storm Ashley battered the country with 80mph winds and freak fires. Weather warnings were in place across Scotland from October 20 as powerful winds hit, leaving a path of destruction.
One place that felt the storm’s wrath was Cork city centre, where a fire was sparked by the weather front. Cork City Fire Brigade tweeted: “Our crews responded to several minor Storm Ashley incidents, including downed electrical cables and a tree down near the Mardyke.” Alongside the tweet is a video of flames on the floor and a knocked-over tree, reports the Mirror.
Paul O’Brien shared a video of flooding by the coast and the strong winds blowing it around, adding: “Storm Ashley has hit Salthill during high tide this evening. This is the Atlantic at its wildest.” While Sryan Bruen shared footage of extremely choppy waters with an Irish Ferries cruiser in the background. They wrote: “Irish Ferries and Stena Line passing by Poolbeg Lighthouse at high tide.”
Luke Chambers also took to social media to share a video of his turbulent landing in the UK. He wrote: “Another bumpy one this afternoon, feeling every bit of Storm Ashley on the Air Tanker landing into Manchester Airport.”
Weather maps show Storm Ashley’s staggering speeds as it batters the UK with torrential rain and winds of up to 80mph. Horrid conditions have hit England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with gales hitting some areas after the Met Office issued a warning of a “danger to life” to some people.
Hundreds of flood warnings have also been issued, and some roads are closed. A yellow weather warning, which came into place in the early hours of this Sunday, covers much of the UK and warns of damage to buildings, power cuts and injuries, and danger to life from the high-speed winds.
As the storm’s centre moves north and west, high winds will whip the UK, with gusts of up to 80mph in Scotland. Wales is forecast to see gusts of up to 65 mph, with similar windspeeds in northwestern England. The winds are set to get stronger throughout the day before dissipating on Monday.
Tens of thousands of homes remained without power on Sunday night after the storm swept across Ireland. The hazardous conditions saw dozens of flights cancelled, including at airports in Dublin and Belfast.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Tony Wisson, said: “Storm Ashley will bring strong winds for most of the UK on Sunday before it clears on Monday, with a chance of some disruption across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northwest England and West Wales.
“A period of especially strong winds is expected on Sunday afternoon and evening in western Scotland, where gusts could potentially reach 70-80mph in exposed areas, and an Amber warning for winds has been issued here.
“More generally, 50-60 mph are possible in some inland areas in other parts of the warning area, especially Northern Ireland and western Scotland, and perhaps up to 60-70 mph along exposed coasts and hills. These strong winds and high spring tides may cause some disruption.”
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