Scottish weather: Commuters facing fresh rush-hour mayhem after 70mph gales blow in

By ALASTAIR DALTON
Published on 12/01/2012 00:00

COMMUTERS have been warned of possible disruption today from winds gusting up to 70mph in eastern Scotland.

The Met Office issued a yellow severe weather warning of “locally severe gales” in an area from Dundee to the Borders.

Officials at the Forth Road Bridge said they expected the crossing would be restricted to cars only for a time.

Forecasters also warned of a wind risk to lorries on other exposed routes, such as higher sections of the A68 Edinburgh-Darlington road in the Borders.

The yellow warning – meaning “be aware” – stated: “Westerly gales and locally severe gales are likely to affect some south-eastern parts of Scotland and northern England during Wednesday night.

“Gusts of 70mph are possible, and the public should be aware of the risk of disruption to travel. The public is advised to take extra care.”

The warning covers Fife, Lothian and the Borders and parts of Tayside and Central Scotland, along with northern England, and remains in force until 8am.

A Met Office spokesman said: “The worst winds will be in the middle of the night, from 3am to 6am, then reduce by the time people go to work.

“Minor structural damage is possible, but this is a very much lower-tier warning than last week’s red warning.”

The spokesman added forecasters were confident the winds would not suddenly increase, as happened during the 3 January storm when gusts caused widespread damage across the Central Belt, reaching 102mph on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh,.

He said: “The low pressure system is a completely different set-up. We are looking at a normal windy night, with a short period of severe gusts.”

Winds today in the capital are expected to peak at 60mph, between midnight and 3am. This is forecast to be followed by more settled but colder weather at least until Monday, as the first high pressure system of the winter moves in, but this is not expected to cause another “big freeze” similar to those seen in the past two winters. A spokesman for the Forth Road Bridge said: “It is possible that the morning peak will be hit. If the forecast is correct, we expect it will be cars only at some point.

“However, it probably won’t have much impact on lorries, because hauliers tend to avoid the rush hour.”

Other traffic is banned from the bridge when the wind speed reaches 65mph, with the crossing closed at 80mph.

Double-decker buses are barred at 45mph winds, with lorries, caravans, trailers and motorcycles stopped at 50mph.

Network Rail said it had chainsaw gangs, overhead power line engineers, maintenance squads ready if required.

A spokesman said: “We are monitoring the forecast winds and are receiving regular updates from our specialist consultants.

“Contingency plans for dealing with severe conditions have been made and resources are available to address any issues caused by the weather.”

The Transport Scotland agency said the Scottish Government Resilience Room would not be convened, because the warning was only yellow and the worst was due to be over by the rush hour in Scotland.