Although the weather forecast from the Met office is much improved on yesterday, there is still a yellow weather warning in place for most of the UK. The Scottish Government’s Resilience Room (SGoRR) met again on Friday evening to co-ordinate the response to Storm Éowyn.
First Minister John Swinney chaired the meeting and has asked people to continue to follow Police Scotland advice and avoid travel in areas covered by the weather warnings.
- Around 106,000 properties remained without power last night. There is continuing transport disruption with road closures and rail, bus, flight and ferry cancellations
The yellow weather warning runs until 3pm on Saturday 25 January in the Lothians.
“Storm Éowyn will continue to bring strong winds into Saturday, with some disruption possible – Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage – Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible – Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen – Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible – Some roads and bridges may close – Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties”
The First Minister said: “Storm Éowyn continues to cause significant impacts on transport and power networks.
“Amber warnings for wind remain in place for much of the country, while there are warnings for wind, snow and ice tonight and tomorrow.
“Across the area covered by the red warning road usage has been about 85% less than normal, and that is thanks to so many people heeding the advice not to travel. Police advice remains to avoid travel in areas covered by amber warnings, with wind particularly challenging for HGVs, and given the level of fallen trees and debris it will take some time for roads to fully reopen. Similarly, rail and air travel has been heavily impacted and people should check their planned journeys before setting off. This will not be a quick return to normal.
“Power cuts are affecting a significant number of properties, and while utilities companies are working hard to reconnect supply in the face of challenging conditions, this will undoubtedly take some time to complete. Companies are focused on supporting their most vulnerable customers and I’d urge everyone to be patient, take extra care and look out for each other.
“Given the levels of damage I expect the recovery and clear up operation will take some time, and I thank all of the emergency services and workers who are supporting people and dealing with this difficult situation.”
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