Storm Brendan hits the UK with gusts of wind up to 87mph
13 January 2020, 08:15
Storm Brendan has hit parts of the UK bringing gusts of wind up to 87mph and has forced delays and cancellations to a number of transport services.
The strongest gusts of 87mph were recorded on South Uist, an island in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, early on Monday evening, while gusts of 79mph were felt in Glamorgan, Scotland, Gwynedd in Wales and the Isles of Scilly.
Footage posted to social media from County Antrim in Northern Ireland shows huge waves whipped up in the storm overwhelming and crashing through a sea wall.
In western Scotland, Network Rail were forced to suspend services travelling through Saltcoats after huge waves broke though the sea wall, and further services were delayed after a tree fell onto the line at Cumbernauld.
A number of ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland were also cancelled on Monday evening through to Tuesday morning.
In the south, Great Western Railways confirmed it had reduced the speed of its services between Plymouth and Penzance due to the winds.
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Absolutely horrendous conditions on the Belfast Road in Carrickfergus. Police have now closed the road as the sea wall collapses @BelTel #StormBrendan pic.twitter.com/k8Pe9lhVlP
— Kevin Scott (@Kscott_94) January 13, 2020
The Met Office has issued yellow wind warnings for a large swathe of the UK and the Republic of Ireland, which is due to stay in place until midnight.
The British warning covers much of the western half of the UK and is set to last over the next two days with warnings of wind for much of the region.
The east coast will not escape the impact of the storm either, with winds of 40-50mph possible.
Meanwhile, Ireland's Met Eireann has issued an orange wind warning for the entire country, where 48,000 homes and businesses are without power.
#StormBrendan 13:30 update. Conditions have rapidly worsened at Saltcoats with waves crashing over the sea wall there. Train services are no longer able to pass through the area. See @ScotRail's feed for train service info. Our team remain on-site monitoring the high tide. pic.twitter.com/EsdRxAPv1G
— Network Rail Scotland (@NetworkRailSCOT) January 13, 2020
The windy weather will persist for England and Wales on Tuesday as the storm continues to move east.
Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: “As it pushes though, pretty much every part of the UK will feel the influence.”
Everywhere in the UK will see rain on Monday at some point, he said, adding that the storm will move through pretty quickly.
