Winds on the Tay Road Bridge reached an eye-watering speed of almost 110mph during the height of last week’s stormy weather, it has emerged.
Hurricane-force winds blasted much of the country last Monday, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Reports had suggested that winds in some parts of the country peaked at around 100mph.
However, statistics released by the Tay Bridge management team reveals that a gust of 108.9mph was recorded.
The previous high this year was 86mph, during storms in February.
Gusts of 50mph were recorded in November.
Winds of just 45mph are enough to see the bridge closed to double-decker buses.
The span is closed to all traffic when 80mph is recorded.
The closure of the bridge last Monday led to disruption for hundreds of travellers but, given the extent of the storm, local councillors are in no doubt that the right decision was taken.Lessons to learnTaybridgehead councillor Tim Brett believes closures are becoming “more common” but admitted it is hard to know what could be done to ease the problem.
He said, “The closure will have caused major disruption to large numbers of people who live in my ward but work across the bridge.
“We would be pleased to hear from anyone who feels there are any lessons that can be learnt from the closure.”
He added, “The number of occasions that the bridge is closed is becoming more common and when it happens it is a reminder of how much we all rely on it.”
Fellow Taybridgehead councillor Maggie Taylor said the “dramatic” wind speeds last Monday had left only one course of action open to the bridge management team.
“We would like to thank the bridge board staff for the way that they dealt with last week’s closure,” she said.
“Action had to be taken to respond to the dramatic increase in wind speeds that occurred.”
The hurricane-force winds caused devastation across Tayside and Fife.
Trees were blown down, lampposts uprooted and gardens left strewn with debris.
Several roads were closed and schoolchildren on a bus in Markinch had a lucky escape when a tree crashed through the rear window.Manager’s reportA report by Tay Road Bridge manager Iain McKinnon charts last Monday’s storm and shows just how quickly the situation deteriorated.
In a summary he outlined the following timetable:9.50am Wind speeds exceed 45mph, no double-deckers permitted. Variable message signs set to 30mph. 11.20am Wind speeds exceed 60mph, bridge restricted to cars only. Pedestrian walkway closed. Variable message signs set to cars only. 1.55pm Wind speeds exceed 80mph and increasing sharply. Bridge closed to all traffic. Variable message signs set to bridge closed. 2.30pm Highest gust of 108.9mph recorded. 8.30pm Wind dropped below 80mph threshold, however procedure is such that a minimum of 30 minutes must elapse with winds below 80mph before re-opening can commence. 9pm Inspection under way. 10.30pm Inspection complete, bridge re-opened. Windspeed 54mph.