Image copyright Met Office Travel disruption, power cuts and flying debris are possible as Storm Ali brings severe gales of up to 80mph to parts of Scotland.
The Met Office has issued weather warnings, with an amber “be prepared” alert from 08:00 to 18:00 on Wednesday.
The warning covers central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, south west, Lothian and Borders and the Strathclyde areas.
A yellow “be aware” warning – also for high winds – covers the whole of Scotland.
‘Large waves’
The public are being warned to check ahead before travelling.
The Met Office said flying debris was likely, as was damage to buildings from falling tiles, trees and branches.
It added: “Large waves could affect coastal roads, seafronts and properties.”
P&O and Stena Line have suspended all morning sailings out of Cairnryan, while CalMac has also cancelled a number of sailings in the Western Isles.
Ali is first on the storm names list for 2018-19, announced by the Met Office and Met Eireann, which has run the Name Our Storms scheme for four years.
Gusts of 65-75mph are expected inland, with police warning drivers of high-sided vehicles to consider whether they were safe to drive.
‘Drivers ignoring warnings’
Ch Supt Stewart Carle, head of road policing, said: “Previous incidents have clearly shown the dangers of driving vehicles vulnerable to being blown over in high-wind conditions and the subsequent danger created for other road users, emergency services and recovery operatives where incidents have occurred due to drivers ignoring warnings.”
He added: “If you are driving a vehicle which may be vulnerable to being blown over in such conditions along exposed routes including bridges, please exercise additional caution and plan your route to avoid exposed areas or consider cancelling your journey until conditions improve.”
Scotland’s transport secretary, Michael Matheson, said the Scottish government’s resilience room would be active throughout Wednesday to monitor the wider impact of Storm Ali.
He urged motorists to check Traffic Scotland updates before setting off to make sure that their route was available.
He added: “The conditions are also likely to lead to disruption on other modes of transport, so we are urging people to take the weather into account if they are planning to travel on trains, ferries and flights.”
‘Evening peak’
Stein Connelly from Transport Scotland told the BBC: “We’ve been doing a lot of planning on this and have been working closely with the Met Office.
“We have called in our operating companies to look at what resources they have available. They have specialised resources – people trained with chainsaws and pumps to clear out drains and make sure there is no flooding.
“The amber warning covers from Dundee to the south. It covers the morning and evening peak, with the disruption expected to increase as the day goes on.
“Our advice is, as always, plan your journey, be prepared and drive to the conditions.”
ScotRail said it was running a normal service on Wednesday, but urged passengers to check for journey updates before setting off.
Scottish Borders Council said it was opening its “emergency bunker” from 07:30 “to enable a co-ordinated response with partners” to Storm Ali.
The Dumfries and Galloway Virtual Operations Support Team (DGVOST) – involving council and emergency services – is also being activated. It uses social media and online updates to keep people informed of any major incidents in the area.
What the weather warning colours mean
- Yellow: Severe weather expected. Yellow means you should plan ahead thinking about possible travel delays, or the disruption of your day-to-day activities.
- Amber: Be prepared for disruption. There is an increased likelihood of bad weather affecting you, which could potentially disrupt your plans and possibly cause travel delays, road and rail closures, interruption to power and the potential risk to life and property.
- Red: Extreme weather is expected. Red means you should take action now to keep yourself and others safe from the impact of the weather. Widespread damage, travel and power disruption and risk to life is likely. You must avoid dangerous areas and follow the advice of the emergency services and local authorities.
Content provided by the BBC. Original piece can be found here https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-45570873
