Scotland weather: Chilly nights and frost to follow autumn gales

Polar air will bring chilly nights and the first frosts of autumn to Scotland this weekend after gales of up to 69mph yesterday disrupted travel and left 500 homes without power.

A dog walker and collie brave the gales on saltcoats beach in North Ayrshire yesterday. Picture: John Devlin

The Met Office said overnight temperatures would dip to 5C, “with a chance of some localised frost in rural areas”.
A spokesman said: “The polar maritime air mass will make it feel slightly cooler.

“The difference is likely to be more felt at night, where we are expecting slightly lower temperatures.”

The chill follows winds reaching 69mph on Fair Isle, 66mph in Kirkwall and 63mph in Lerwick during yesterday’s gales. The highest mountain wind speed was 108mph on Cairn Gorm.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said 514 homes lost power after high winds damaged cables.

Areas affected included Muir of Ord, near Inverness, Insch in Aberdeenshire, Crieff, Kames near Tighnabruaich in Argyll and parts of Orkney.

A flood warning for Strath Oykel in the Highlands was issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

CalMac cancelled ferries on seven of its west coast routes, with NorthLink halting sailings between Scrabster and Stromness in Orkney.

The Tay Road Bridge was open to cars only after winds topped 60mph, with a 30mph speed limit imposed.

The Forth Road Bridge was closed to double-decker buses, with winds reaching 52mph.

Strong winds also affected the Erskine, Dornoch, Kessock and Skye bridges.

Winds reached 51mph in South Uist, 47mph at Tulloch Bridge, near Fort William, and 46mph in Prestwick, Islay and Tiree.

Some ScotRail trains were cancelled between Ardgay or Lairg and Wick/Thurso so the route could be checked for damage and debris blown on to the track.

A Met Office yellow – “be aware” – severe weather warning was in force from 1am to 1pm across Scotland apart from the far south west.