- Storm Isha causes widespread havoc
- Power outages and travel disruptions
- Flight and rail cancellations
Thousands of people in northwest England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were powerless throughout the night due to Storm Isha, which brought heavy rain and strong gusts to the United Kingdom.
Northumberland experienced gusts of 99 mph (159 km/h), and travel disruptions are anticipated to persist this morning.
Uprooted trees are blocking roads, and several trains have been cancelled.
A Met Office yellow warning for wind persists throughout the United Kingdom until noon, with inland gusts of 50–60 mph predicted.
The Met Office warned of potential destruction to structures and infrastructure, downed trees, power outages, and flying detritus, adding that exposed coastal stretches could experience 70-80 mph gusts.
The most incredible gust of 99 mph has been documented thus far at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled throughout the United Kingdom due to the winds, and those that managed to take off could not land at their designated locations.
On Sunday afternoon, an EasyJet flight en route from Edinburgh to Bristol was rerouted to Paris. Many passengers, whose initial voyage was within France, should have brought their passports and were stranded in the Charles de Gaulle terminal overnight.
Transportation Disruptions Amid Storm
A Tui flight en route from Sharm El Sheikh to Glasgow Airport was diverted to Manchester Airport in response to a storm-related emergency declaration. Ryanair passengers returning from Tenerife to Cologne Bonn airport in Germany arrived at the airport instead of Edinburgh.
Additionally, the Tay Road Bridge, the M48 Severn Bridge, and the A66 in Durham and Cumbria between the A1 and the M6 were all closed due to the gusts.
Network Rail has enforced a speed limit of 50 mph on most of its routes.
ScotRail has cancelled all rush-hour trains and warned that services may not restart until “later on Monday”. Trees have reportedly caused damage to overhead electrical cables on certain lines.
Travel is not advised until later on Monday due to major Southern rail problems between Gatwick Airport and East Croydon.
East Midlands Railway has also predicted that service modifications and delays are “likely,” and LNER has declared that until noon, no trains will operate north of Newcastle.
Monday morning before 06:00, Southeastern cancelled trains into and out of London to enable engineers to inspect for debris.
Meanwhile, Ferry companies issued several cancellation notifications.
Approximately 45,000 dwellings were impacted by the power disruptions in Northern Ireland, 8,000 in northwest England, and 3,000 in Wales. Over 170,000 establishments in the Irish Republic are currently without power.
Two amber warnings were issued by the Met Office at 18:00 GMT on Sunday. One spanned the entirety of Wales and the regions of central, eastern, and western England. The latter encompassed Northern Ireland, Scotland, and northern England. North Thurso and Wick, east Fraserburgh and Peterhead, and west Cromarty and Nairn were in the red alert zone.
Last week, Storm Isha, a low-pressure system crossing the Atlantic, brought heavy snow to the northeastern US.
The Met Office has warned that this week’s excessive precipitation may result in flooding. As of just before 6:00 on Monday, the Environment Agency in England had issued 96 flood alerts or situations in which flooding is possible, and 30 flood warnings, or situations in which flooding is expected. Fifty flood warnings have been issued in Scotland, while Wales has issued six.
This week, higher temperatures are anticipated in some regions of the United Kingdom following days of snow and freezing temperatures. However, the Met Office warns that the temperature may not feel warmer due to strong gusts.
Storm Isha, the ninth named storm since September, follows Storm Henk, which flooded the UK earlier this month.
The Met Office assigns storm names based on their potential to induce disruption or damage. The agency says naming a cyclone helps people track its progress on TV, radio, and social media.
