Storm Floris batters Scotland with 90 mph winds, disrupts travel and festivals
The U.K.'s Meteorological Office on Monday issued an 'amber' wind warning in Scotland for Storm Floris, meaning there is potential risk to lives and property, especially from large waves in coastal areas.
Network Rail Scotland said wind gusts of up to 90 mph (145kph) had brought down trees across lines and damaged overhead wires. More than 22,000 properties were without electricity, operator Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said.
After reports of mobile homes being blown over on the Isle of Skye off Scotland's northwest coast, police Scotland said that 'anyone with campervans should remain parked in sheltered areas until the wind speed reduces.'
The wind and heavy rain hit at the busiest time of year for tourism, with hundreds of thousands of people flocking to the Edinburgh Fringe and other arts festivals. The Edinburgh Military Tattoo, one of the city's biggest tourist draws, cancelled Monday's scheduled outdoor performance by massed ranks of bagpipers and drummers at Edinburgh Castle.
Train companies canceled services across much of Scotland and some ferry crossings were also scrapped. Floris, named by weather authorities, also hit parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and northern England, the Met Office said.
Scottish government minister Angela Constance urged people to be careful if traveling and 'consider this a winter journey as opposed to a summer journey.'
'Please make sure you've got warm clothes, food, water, plenty of fuel and that your mobile phone is charged up,' she said.
Train operator ScotRail urged 'anyone with garden equipment, such as tents, trampolines or furniture, to secure items so that they don't blow onto the tracks and interfere with lineside equipment.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
When next storm likely to hit UK and what it will be called
Parts of the UK have been battered by Storm Floris today which saw trees toppled and disruption caused to flights and rail services. It was the sixth storm to hit the UK in the 2024/25 season but its timing was called "unseasonably disruptive" by the Met Office. That's because storms are more likely to hit in the autumn and winter months as opposed to summer. READ MORE: UK 7-day heatwave 'days away' after Storm Floris batters country Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp, click the link to join The last storm to hit the UK was Storm Éowyn which made landfall back in January. With the autumn season starting on September 1, it's more likely that we'll see storms arrive after then. Since the Met Office began naming storms back in 2015, in partnership with Met Éireann in Ireland, and KNMI in the Netherlands, there have been 77 storms that have taken place - but only eight have occurred in the summer. Professor Suzanne Gray, Professor of Meteorology at the University of Reading, said: "While named storms are more common in the autumn and winter months, named storms do occur in the summer months. "In 2024, we had storm Lilian in August (one of 12 named storms in 2023-24) and in 2023 we had storms Antoni and Betty in August (two of the four named storms in 2022-23). "Of the 77 named storms that have hit the UK since the Met Office first began naming storms in 2015-16, eight have occurred in the summer months of June-August." Each season, the Met Office publishes a list of storm names running in alphabetical order, however it misses out the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z. Next in line on the list is Gerben, following on from Floris. However the Met Office publishes a new list of names each September, to run for the following year. That means if no storm arrives before then, the next storm to arrive could feature a name starting with A. Explaining more information about the alphabet system, a Met Office spokesperson said: "Since Name our Storms first launched in 2015 we have issued a new list of names each September. "The list runs from early September to late August the following year, to coincide with the start of autumn and the end of summer, when we see the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for named storms increase. "The naming of storms using a single authoritative system provides a consistent message and aids the communication of approaching severe weather through media partners and other government agencies. "In this way the public will be better placed to keep themselves, their property and businesses safe."
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Storm Floris leads to Edinburgh flight aborting two landings and turning around
Storm Floris has been causing pandemonium to planes, trains and automobiles across the country with powerful winds battering Scotland's central belt. Edinburgh Airport was sadly unable to escape the disruption with a flight taking off from Gatwick having two bites of the cherry when attempting to land only to be forced to return London. easyJet flight U2857 departed at 1.20pm as the storm was at its most ferocious. READ MORE: Moment Edinburgh man 'knocked out' on packed Royal Mile in front of tourists READ MORE: Edinburgh Gyle shopping centre evacuated after 'incident' in Morrisons store It was due to touch down in Edinburgh at 3pm but after struggling with the strong winds, it turned around and landed back in the English capital at 3.49pm on Monday August 4. Several bridges were closed to high vehicles across Edinburgh and the Lothians with trains also experiencing chaos due to objects flying onto overhead lines in the west. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. Trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh and Stirling had to be halted after a polythene sheet being lodge on the lines. LNER made an early decision to stop their services from travelling north of Newcastle throughout Monday 4. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox Scotrail cautioned services would continue to see disruption into Tuesday August 5 where Storm Floris is expected to die down and make way for calmer conditions.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Pictures after Storm Floris brought down trees and closed roads in East Lancs
Storm Floris hit Lancashire today (August 4) leading to some travel disruption and fallen trees. A yellow weather warning for wind came into force at 6am and remains in force until midnight tonight. The warning covers all parts of Lancashire. Lancashire Fire and Rescue also issued a statement, warning drivers to be careful of high winds and heavy rain. Thankfully, disruption across Lancashire has been relatively minimal so far, apart from some fallen trees around Sabden. Barrowford Road in Padiham closed between the junctions of Whalley Road and Slade Lane due to a fallen electricity pole. Officers said the road will be closed "for a short amount of time" while it cleared. It has since reopened. Simonstone Road, Sabden, also closed from Back Lane and Padiham Road due to fallen trees. At the time of writing, the roads remain closed. Anyone driving in the area has been asked to look for an alternative route. Garden design and landscaping business, Ribble Valley Transform, shared pictures of the fallen trees blocking Simonstone Road. Debbie Louise Hall also shared a picture of a fallen tree blocking the road. A yellow weather warning for wind will be in force across other parts of the UK on Tuesday, but this is not set to impact Lancashire at this time. In Blackburn, the rest of the week is set to remain mild with a mixture of sunshine and cloud forecast. Highs of 20°C and lows of 12°C have been forecast. It is set to remain breezy with wind gusts of 43mph forecast on Tuesday, in Blackburn. A Met Office spokesperson said: 'Breezy with a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers, these gradually easing into the evening with winds turning lighter. Maximum temperature 21 °C. 'Drier and warmer on Wednesday with plenty of sunshine, though hazy at times. Cloudier and breezier again on Thursday and Friday with patchy outbreaks of rain. Temperatures close to average.'
