A blackout caused by Storm Eowyn has badly struck one region as 11,000 Scots homes have lost power.
Many in Dumfries and Galloway are affected and the A75 is closed due to a number of incidents, as Police Scotland issue a “do not travel” notice for the area. This comes as red weather warnings and a danger to life alert was issued for the area, that now extends to cover the M74 and A75.
A Police Scotland spokesperson added: “We are reminding the public not to travel in or to the areas affected by the red weather warning.”
Central, Tayside & Fife, south west Scotland, Lothian Borders (including Edinburgh) and Strathclyde (including Glasgow) were the areas first covered by the most severe warning the Met Office can issue. However, the warning, in place until 5pm today, now covers as far south as Lockerbie on the south-west of Scotland.
We reported earlier there was an estimated 10,000 people without power in Ayrshire, East Lothian, Falkirk, the Scottish Borders and Dumfries and Galloway due to the effects of Storm Éowyn, according to SP Energy Networks. Energy supplier SSEN said they had increased their response teams to “10 times the usual levels” with the central belt and south west under a red “danger to life” weather alert for wind.
A statement from SP Energy said: “Storm Eowyn has caused damage to our electricity network. Engineers are currently assessing the damage and when it is safe to commence repairs will make every effort to restore supplies as quickly as possible by 24/01/2025 21:03.
“The latest updates can be found on our website www.spenergynetworks.co.uk. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.”
Yesterday, the Met Office issued a danger to life warning due to flying debris from buildings, as it is expected that winds across central Scotland could reach as high as 100mph throughout the course of today.
Hundreds of thousands of school pupils will also be at home today as nurseries and schools shut over safety issues. While all ScotRail trains have been cancelled today due to the high winds, rain and heavy snow set to batter large parts of the country.
A yellow snow warning also came into force at 6am on Friday morning for Grampian, Tayside and the Highlands. It will last until 11.59pm.
Don’t miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond – Sign up to our daily newsletter here..