Power companies are working to restore supplies to thousands of homes after the worst gales to hit Scotland for more than a decade caused severe disruption across the country.
Gusting winds broke the 100mph mark and reached up to 165mph on the hills bringing down power lines and disrupting the electricity supply to thousands of households 15,000 of them in Tayside.
As the country braced itself for the onslaught predicted by the Met Office’s red alert, unprecedented efforts were made to restrict the damage caused by the Atlantic storm. From early on, senior police were advising against travel.
“People could be putting themselves at considerable risk by travelling in these conditions,” said Assistant Chief Constable Allan Moffat, from Central Scotland Police, on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.
“I recognise that this is a significant statement, however, it is based upon the premise of ensuring public safety and minimising the risk to road users in the affected areas.”
Many of those who could not take that advice were faced with lengthy delays as the high winds affected road, rail, air and ferry networks.
The Forth and Tay road bridges were closed to all traffic and the Friarton Bridge at Perth was also closed to high-sided vehicles.
Gusts of 90mph were recorded on the Tay Road Bridge, with a peak of 106mph on the bridge shortly after 4pm. The bridge finally reopened to cars and single-decker buses shortly after 9pm.
The A9 was closed in both directions by fallen trees and several minor routes were also closed for a time.
The Tay Bridge was also closed and ScotRail was forced to introduce a temporary timetable across the country, with a number of services cancelled or curtailed. Among the services hit was the Aberdeen-Edinburgh route, with trains that did run diverted via Perth due to the closure of the bridge.
Network Rail also introduced a 50mph speed limit for “safety reasons,” pointing to the possibility of debris being blown on to the tracks.
At Edinburgh Airport an easyJet flight from Bristol had a perilous landing, almost scraping its wing on the runway.
Katie Harris (34), from Edinburgh, said: ”I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’m so glad I wasn’t on that plane. That’s got to have been a pretty rocky landing. The right wheel hit the ground first and just bounced.”For further extensive coverage of how the storm affected Tayside and Fife, see Friday’s CourierAt the height of the storm a wind turbine burst into flames at a windfarm north of Ardrossan in Ayrshire.
Stuart McMahon (43) spotted the amazing sight from his home. He said: ”I just looked at it and thought, ‘Wow!”’
Police in Tayside said they responded to ”numerous” reports of trees being felled by the storm force winds in Angus, Dundee and Perth.
”Heavy rainfall in the Tayside area has also resulting in isolated flooding and a great deal of surface water on the roads, which make driving conditions more difficult,” said a force spokesman.
”Slates have been blown from several buildings across the Tayside area and items such as trampolines, signs, building materials and debris have been causing issues as a result of being blown about.”
In Fife, the western side of the county was particularly hard hit by problems caused by fallen trees.
Fife Council recalled all its bin lorries to the depot mind-morning and warned residents collection services will be disrupted over the next few days as a result.
The Fife town of Cowdenbeath found itself in the spotlight as thousands shared a video of a trampoline rolling down a residential street. It seemed to sum up the good-humoured way most Scots dealt with the disruption.
Around 70% of schools in Scotland closed, including all 186 in Fife and more than 20 in Perth and Kinross. Dundee and Angus schools remained open, but most after-school activities were cancelled.
Communities in Dundee and Montrose had to postpone seasonal festivities as strong winds forced the cancellation of the switch on of their Christmas lights.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted there had been no ”over-reaction” to the bad weather.
Speaking following a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR), she said the response had been proportionate to the conditions.
She said 6,000 ScottishPower customers were without power, while Scottish and Southern Energy had 25,000 off the grid. In addition, 16 flood alerts were in place throughout the country as a precaution.
The Deputy First Minister, who was filling for Alex Salmond, who is in China, said the NHS was coping well despite some power outages and the collapse of a roof at the day surgery unit at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
Winds are expected to be less strong today, but conditions will remain blustery, with snow showers forecast.
Main photo Stuart McMahon. See more at www.flickr.com