42,000 homes still without power as Storm Amy chaos continues

Storm Amy has caused widespread disruption (Jonathan McCambridge/PA) Jonathan McCambridge

Storm Amy left about 42,000 homes without power and caused widespread travel chaos as it swept across the country on Saturday. Railway lines and roads were closed while ferry services faced major disruption amid high winds exceeding 100mph in exposed areas.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering the entire UK on Saturday. An amber weather warning for "damaging" winds remained in force across northern Scotland until 9pm Saturday.

Irish police confirmed a man died in a "weather-related" incident in the Letterkenny area of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, shortly after 4.15pm on Friday. In Scotland, a man was airlifted to safety by coastguard helicopter after becoming stranded on a sandbank in the River Spey near Garmouth in Moray during stormy conditions. A passer-by raised the alarm at about 10am on Saturday after spotting the man stuck under the Spey viaduct, and he was confirmed safe and well after the rescue.

Power Network Under Pressure

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said 42,000 homes remained without power due to the storm, though more than 33,000 customers have been reconnected. The company deployed hundreds of additional team members to respond to the storm, which recorded wind speeds of 96mph at lower levels on Tiree island and gusts exceeding 100mph in exposed areas.

Nik Wheeler, SSEN's head of customer operations for the north of Scotland, said: "Amy's winds have continued to blow at damaging speeds, and more network damage is expected before the end of Saturday. Engineering and tree-cutting teams are well placed to respond, and they've been doing so as safely and quickly as they can in what are challenging conditions. I want to reassure our customers that every resource at our disposal is being directed at the reconnection operation, and our efforts to ensure people are kept well informed and looked after while these essential repairs are carried out."

Transport Chaos Continues

Network Rail Scotland reported "significant disruption" across the network with many routes closed on Saturday afternoon. More than 170 separate incidents had been recorded by Saturday morning, with teams working around the clock to repair extensive damage.

ScotRail said about 80 trees had been brought down on lines, with engineers checking routes before resuming services. All services out of Glasgow Central were suspended until at least 2pm on Saturday.

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said Network Rail and ScotRail teams would "work flat out" to recover services as quickly as possible. He added: "We're sorry to customers who have been impacted by the disruption caused by Storm Amy."

Belfast International Airport warned delays may still be possible on Saturday and advised travellers to check with airlines for latest flight information. Comedian Jason Manford had to cancel his Belfast show on Friday after his British Airways flight was diverted to Manchester due to the extreme weather conditions.

Record-Breaking Storm Impact

Storm Amy set a new record for the deepest area of low pressure in the UK for October, showing central pressure of 947.9 hectopascals at Baltasound, Shetland. The previous record was 950.9 hectopascals in 1988, while a gust of 92mph was recorded at Magilligan in Northern Ireland on Friday.

Royal Parks confirmed closure of all its national parks in London on Saturday due to "severe wind gusts", including Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens and St James Park. The closure extended to "all park roads and cycleways, cafes and kiosks, parks sports venues, the Serpentine lido and boating lake, and the royal parks shop."

The Met Office extended a yellow weather warning for northern Scotland into Sunday, now covering further down Scotland's east coast until midday. Met Office chief forecaster Neil Armstrong said: "Storm Amy will be an impactful autumn storm for many in Scotland and Northern Ireland, though impacts will also spread to north-west England and Wales, as well as a more widespread windy period for the rest of the UK."

Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.