Britons are today facing commuter hell with rail services across the country cancelled after Storm Isha’s 100mph gales and heavy downpours barrelled down on the nation overnight.
Thousands of people have been left without power as Isha brought disruption to the electricity and transport networks across the UK – and for many this may not return until Tuesday afternoon.
Fallen trees have affected transport with Traffic Scotland reporting stretches of the M9 and M74 were among roads closed throughout the night, while the A1 southbound was closed at Thorntonloch due to an overturned lorry.
In Appleby haunting sirens wailed across the Cumbria town as flood waters surged through the streets.
High winds forced the closure of the Tay Road Bridge, M48 Severn Bridge and the A66 in Durham and Cumbria between the A1(M) and the M6, while the Humber Bridge, A19 Tees Flyover and A628 Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire were among stretches closed to high-sided vehicles.
In Scotland after a ‘difficult night’ Network Rail has cancelled all passenger and freight trains across the country until they can inspect rail routes and repair the damage of the storm. It is expected to restart at around noon.
Massive queues stretched out of the station and around the block in Glasgow as passengers carrying large bags looked to get the first train out of the Scottish city.
How have YOU been affected by Storm Isha? Email [email protected]
Shocking images show a tree felled by the storm on Gristhrope Road, in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham
Phone lines in the area are also down as utilities are hit by Storm Isha – with the uprooted tree smashing onto cars parked opposite
Fallen tree on four cars in Linlithgow, Scotland, as families woke up to their vehicles trapped by trees in the aftermath of Storm Isha
A huge tree in a residential area was felled, landing on a line of parked vehicles
Emergency services had to treat the driver of a TV production lorry for injuries after gale force winds from Storm Isha blew the metal bar of a height restriction gate through the windscreen of the lorry
The main high street in the Cumbrian village of Appleby is underwater this evening after the river broke its bank due to rain from Storm Isha – as a man scales scaffolding instead of using the flooded pavement
Crowds of commuters stranded King’s Cross Train Station in London as trains operators announced stopping service to the north and Scotland
The Met Office issued a number of weather warnings
Last night the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation said there was a risk of the huge storms alongside hail of up to 20mm in diameter across the entirety of Ireland and much of Scotland
Ventusky Privacy Policy
Engineers equipped with chainsaws will have to clear the fallen trees and debris in at least 20 locations across the lines before the lines can get going again.
READ MORE: Moment ‘idiot’ diver jumps into huge crashing waves during Storm Isha as RNLI issue safety warning to ‘stay away from the sea’
This included the remains of a garden shed, which had been blown onto the line at Bellgrove station in Glasgow, and a small fire had broken out after a tree fell on overhead wires in Gartcosh, Cumbernauld.
Network Rail Scotland added to their customers: ‘Given the number of issues dealt with last night, and damage to infrastructure we already know of, such as fallen trees, and overhead wire damage in at least 20 separate locations, reopening Scotland’s Railway is going to be a challenge. We’ll keep you updated on progress.’
LNER has said that high winds between Doncaster and Berwick Upon Tweed mean all trains will run at reduced speeds today. They added that the Scottish railway is closed and there will be no trains north of Dunbar is closed until midday.
Network Rail imposed 50mph speed restrictions across most routes to keep passengers and trains safe from falling trees and debris blown onto tracks, with disruption expected into this morning.
An entire greenhouse was picked up by Storm Isha and thrown onto railway lines at Westgate-on-Sea, near Ramsgate in Kent, while there were also reports of a trampoline blocking the line at Rainham.
A spokesman said: ‘The railway has recovered quickly this morning following Storm Isha with trees and debris cleared across routes in England and Wales, and route proving trains reporting lines clear.
‘Passenger and freight services have restarted and a good service is expected in most areas. Passengers should still check before they head out for the latest travel news on trains operators’ websites.
‘The exception is Scotland where we do not expect to be able to restart services until around midday with dozens of lines shut due to fallen trees and flooding.
‘Hundreds of engineers are already out, armed with chainsaws and cherry pickers to remove and repair. Once done, route proving trains will be dispatched before passenger services can restart.
Hundreds of travellers wait in Leeds Bradford Airport after their flights were cancelled
Vehicles make a large splash as they are driven through a huge puddle following a downpour in Greenwich, South East London
Some sit on the floor as they are left stranded in the airport where three departing flights have been cancelled today and some are delayed by over six hours
CUMBRIA: The main high street in the Cumbrian village of Appleby underwater
BELFAST: A tree branch fallen on Notting Hill road in south Belfast during Storm Isha
A man sleeps next to floor heating vents at Bristol airports check-in area as scores of passengers were left stranded overnight
LNER has said that high winds between Doncaster and Berwick Upon Tweed mean all trains will run at reduced speeds today
‘It’s been a wild night, but passengers and railway staff have been kept safe and we will work tirelessly to get the railway back on its feet as quickly as we can.’
East Midlands Railway has said delays and alterations to its services were ‘likely’, while no LNER trains will run north of Newcastle until midday.
Avanti’s West Coast service last night ‘advised strongly’ that passengers do not travel today, and tickets will be valid to use today or tomorrow, while customers could also get refunds.
Meanwhile, air traffic control restrictions were in place, leading to flight cancellations and causing some planes to divert. A flight travelling from Sharm El Sheikh to Glasgow Airport declared an emergency due to Storm Isha.
A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport said the TUI flight was ‘diverted to Manchester due to current weather conditions’.
Thousands of people have been left without power ESB Networks reported more than 170,000 properties in Ireland were without power while Electricity North West said crews had been stood down due to the conditions with almost 8,000 homes losing power.
The company said expected restoration times had been pushed back to 5pm on Tuesday.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said hundreds of extra staff had been brought in and incident centres opened after around 45,000 customers had been left without power, many of them overnight.
Rishi Sunak said the Government is working hard with authorities to restore power to homes remaining without it.
Speaking at the National Film and Television School, the Prime Minister said: ‘The first thing to say is my thoughts are with all those who’ve been affected by the storm over the past day or so. My thanks also to all the emergency responders who have been working incredibly hard to support people.
‘I would urge people to just continue to monitor the travel advice to make sure they’re doing everything to keep them and their families safe.
‘And regarding power, the progress we’ve made is almost 300,000 properties have had their power restored.
‘Obviously, there are still some where that’s not the case, but I want to reassure everyone we’re working as hard as we can with the relevant authorities to get those people’s power restored as quickly as possible.’
And famers have said their crops have been devastated by the foul weather as their fields are left flooded.
The National Farmers’ Union’s Peter Gade, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, said: ‘The whole field should look like winter wheat growing, as you can see at the top end of the field. But at the bottom end of the field we are competently overwhelmed by flood water as a result of the original Storm Babet and it has never gone away all winter.
‘I would say of all of my cereals, my wheat and barley in the ground, probably some 40 per cent are affected and comprised. Either completely written off, which are un-insurancable losses off the bottom line and we don’t know what we can retrieve in the spring.
‘Of course, there is a shortage of seed across the country. We are just in a real pickle and its across the whole of the east side of the country from what I can see.’
Last night the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation said there was a risk of the huge storms alongside hail of up to 20mm in diameter across the entirety of Ireland and much of Scotland.
This has since been changed overnight to warnings of ‘severe thunderstorms’ across England and Wales which could cause ‘one or more tornadoes and / or waterspouts’ alongside 80mph wind gusts. The warning has since expired.
And a highways boss has warned that it could take days for Britain to get back to normal as workers battle to clear the roads.
Nick Raymond, senior manager for highways, told of how his staff put their lives on the line in the face of flying debris as they worked to clear the backlog.
The iconic Blackpool beach is pummeled by fierce waves as Storm Isha pounds the country
Spray drenches the seaside town’s pier as huge waves threaten the landmark
One traveller looks anxiously at the rail boards at Edinburgh Waverley Station – as all Scottish trains are currently cancelled
And their helpline had more than 20 times their usual number of calls as drivers fought to forge a path home.
He told the Today Programme: ‘The severe extent of both the wind and the rain caused both us and our multi-agency partners significant problems.
‘We had well over a hundred to 200 hundred calls to deal with. Put in context, we would normally expected to get anywhere between 10 and 15 in that sort of period.
‘We had a high number of our staff out on the network trying to deal with fallen trees, flying debris and flooding thrown at us. We were fairly confident two hours ago [of getting things back to normal quickly] but as daylight comes and people wake up we are starting to see the full extent of the damage.
‘I would normally say two or three days to clear the backlog, but with the potential for further storms coming in the next two or three days that might hinder it even further.
‘Ten years ago we would have thought parts of this was business as usual. But we are seeing it happen far too frequently now.
Drivers make their way along the water logged country lanes after a night of heavy rainfall caused by Storm Isha in Dunsden, Oxfordshire
Commuters battle strong winds in London Bridge as they slog their way to work
‘We have only just come off the back of the cold and the snow, before Christmas was another event.
‘We are starting to see this happen far more frequently and the damage is far more extensive and its causing us more problems to deal with.’
In terrifying footage a car was shown having an incredibly lucky escape – as they drive past seconds before a roof crashes into the road.
The huge building work crashes into the exact point of the road where they were just seconds before they sped away.
Seen from a second angle, the true terror of the incident is revealed – as the second half of the tiled shelter in Belton, North Lincolnshire, crashes into the tarmac.
In Bournemouth, emergency services had to treat the driver of a TV production lorry for injuries after gale force winds from Storm Isha blew the metal bar of a height restriction gate through the windscreen of the lorry as it was leaving Kings Park Car Park after the AFC Bournemouth v Liverpool match at the Vitality Stadium.
The Met Office has weather warnings in place covering the entirety of Britain heading into early Monday morning.
The most serious of these is a rare red warning for wind, which is in place in northern Scotland between 1am and 5am, as meteorologists predict gusts of 90 to 100mph.
White water rushes through the Falls of Dochart in Killin, Stirling, as Storm Isha left torrents or water in rivers
A DFDS ferry arrives at the Port of Dover in Kent during the aftermath of Storm Isha
The huge ship crashed through the waves as it powered towards the British coast
Waves roll into New Brighton following Storm Isha
The wild weather has caused travel chaos – with the bizarre sight of a greenhouse on a set of railways stopping trains
The warning covers Thurso and Wick to the north, Fraserburgh and Peterhead to the east and goes as far west as Cromarty and Nairn.
The Met Office said there winds would bring a ‘risk of damage, disruption and a danger to life’, with flying debris, large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and homes.
There could be damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down, as well as power cuts affecting other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
Amber warnings for wind cover most of the rest of Britain, aside from London and East Anglia, where a yellow warning is place.
Yellow warnings for heavy rain are also in place in north west England and most of Wales.
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: ‘We’re expecting widespread gales to affect the UK, amber warnings are in place for large parts of the country.
‘There’s the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down.’
He added: ‘We have a wind warning in place across the whole of the UK, it’s pretty unusual for the whole of the country to be under a blanket wind warning.’
The Met Office said ‘everybody’ has been affected by the storm.
BELFAST: A car is damaged after a tree falls on it due to the high winds brought by Storm Isha
Social media jokers made light of the wild winds that caused flights to be diverted to other European countries
In western Ireland a man in his 40s was confirmed to have died after a horror crash in the village Lisduff, County Mayo, at around 6.15pm amid extremely high winds.
It came as Network Rail imposed 50mph speed restrictions across most routes to keep passengers and trains safe from falling trees and debris blown onto tracks, with disruption likely to continue into Monday morning.
Scotland’s railway operator cancelled all of its rush-hour trains and services may not begin running until ‘later on Monday’.
East Midlands Railway has said delays and alterations to its services were ‘likely’, while no LNER trains will run north of Newcastle until midday.
Meanwhile, air traffic control restrictions were in place, leading to flight cancellations and causing some planes to divert.
A flight travelling from Sharm El Sheikh to Glasgow Airport declared an emergency due to Storm Isha.
A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport said the TUI flight was ‘diverted to Manchester due to current weather conditions’.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said: ‘Due to adverse weather conditions across the UK, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place. Restrictions of this sort are only every applied to maintain safety.
‘Our teams are working closely with airports and airlines to minimise disruption. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.’
And Ryanair were slammed for putting travellers grounded by the flight chaos in what appeared to be a warehouse – with narrow camp beds and metallic coverings being dragged out for their stranded customers.
One punter, called Elliott, raged: ‘Ryanair. This is your excuse for overnight accommodation when a flight is rerouted. Absolutely disgraceful.’
It comes after the Met Office said 90mph winds hit Capel Curig in north Wales during Sunday afternoon.
IRELAND: People stand around a clock tower in Eyre Square, Galway, after high winds brought it crashing down
DUBLIN: Fire crews stand around a metal shed that was lifted 20 feet into the air over a wall by high winds
Meanwhile, 76mph gusts were recorded in Loftus, North Yorkshire, and 75mph winds blasted Brizlee Wood, near Alnwick in Northumberland, and Emley in Huddersfield.
Heavy downpours battered some places, with 30 flood warnings in place in England and 27 in Scotland.
Storm Isha is the ninth named storm to hit the UK since the season began in September.
Each storm is named when it poses a risk to people and they are given names beginning with consecutive letters of the alphabet.
The record number of named storms in one year is when the Met Office began the practice in 2015/16, with Storm Katie being the 11th and final storm of the season.
If there are three more named storms between next week and August, this year will mark a new record.
Cold Arctic air pushing south into North America is making the jet stream more active, the Met Office said, and because it flows from west to east, it is bringing stormier weather to the UK.