Storm Gerrit Scotland: A9 among major roads blocked by snow, flooding and fallen trees

Main route to Highlands shut along with both cross-Border rail routes

Snow, flooding and winds gusting to 86mph from Storm Gerrit caused havoc for travellers across Scotland on Wednesday, with both cross-Border rail lines blocked and the main road and rail links between Perth and Inverness shut.

The A9 was blocked in two places by snow and flooding, while ScotRail announced shortly after 1pm it was suspending all services north of Perth and Dundee. Sports fixtures cancelled as a result included Scottish Premiership matches between Rangers and Ross County, and Aberdeen and Motherwell.

Other main routes closed by flooding included the A1 at Thistly Cross in East Lothian and the A90 at Inverarity, south of Forfar. Abedeenshire Council said it had closed the flood gates at Stonehaven as a precaution.

Trunk road maintenance firm BEAR Scotland said: “We request that people consider if they really need to travel today.”

Power cuts affected nearly 30,000 properties, with Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) warning it could take up to two days to reconnect its remaining 18,500 affected customers.

Fallen trees closed other roads and rail routes, with Met Office yellow warnings for rain, snow and wind in force for much of Scotland north of the Central Belt until Wednesday night. The forecaster said wind speeds reached 86mph in Kincardineshire, south of Aberdeen.

A separate yellow warning for wind and snow has been issued for Shetland for 6pm to 6am, with blizzards of heavy snow and winds of up to 75-85mph.

A member of the public is seen on the platform of Bowling station, which is shut by flooding. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

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Network Rail said it was dealing with a landslip between Cupar and Leuchars. It said: "We’ll need to inspect this line in daylight, along with others, for more damage before we can reopen it tomorrow."

A total of 19 flood warnings were issued for Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders, East Lothian, the Trossachs, Dundee, Angus, North Ayrshire and Orkney by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), along with 17 lower-level flood alerts across the rest of the country.

Fallen trees blocked the A96 at Clinterty Wood, just north of Aberdeen, the A82 at Inverlochy, near Fort William, where a lamp post was also felled, the A85 at Bridge of Awe, near Taynuilt, and part of the M90 at Bridge of Earn, south of Perth.

Travellers at Edinburgh Waverley station, as services are disrupted by Storm Gerrit. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Heavy snow and a jack-knifed lorry closed the A9 at Drumochter where police were dealing with stranded vehicles, and road maintenance firm BEAR North West Trunk Roads deployed nine snowploughs and tractors in an effort to clear the road.

The snow gates were closed on the A93 at Spittal of Glenshee and on the A939 between Cockbridge and Tomintoul.

Flooded roads included the A9 between Dunkeld and Ballinluig, the A96 at both Inverurie and Huntly, the A82 at Milton, south of Dumbarton, the A78 at Fairlie and the A9 at the Broxden roundabout in Perth.

Scottish Borders Council said: “Due to heavy rain, there is a risk of river flooding in some areas, as well as significant surface water issues on roads.”

The A9 at the Drumochter pass on Wednesday. (Photo by BEAR Scotland/Traffic Scotland)

On the railways, overhead power line damage halted trains between Edinburgh and Dunbar on the east coast main line, with the route also flooded at Grantshouse in the Borders.

The west coast main line was closed by flooding near Lockerbie. Glasgow-London operator Avanti West Coast said passengers north of Preston “should not attempt to travel”.

ScotRail said: “There's major disruption due to extreme weather on much of our network.”

This included a fire caused by a fallen tree coming into contact with overhead power lines in Dumbarton. The route was also flooded further west at Bowling, closing the line between Dalmuir and Helensburgh.

ScotRail also halted services on the Kilwinning-Ardrossan/Largs, Paisley-Gourock/Wemyss Bay, Dalmuir-Balloch, Dumfries-Kilmarnock and Ladybank-Dundee routes.

Routes also closed on Wednesday afternoon were Dundee-Aberdeen and Inverness to Aberdeen, Perth, Thurso/Wick and Kyle of Lochalsh, and Glasgow-Oban/Mallaig.

A tree caught fire after being entangled in a ScotRail train pantograph and overhead power lines at Dumbarton. (Photo by ScotRail)

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Loganair, the main airline to the Western and Northern Isles, said: “Widespread high winds are causing delays and disruption on our network today.”

CalMac reported widespread west coast ferry disruption, with sailings on many routes suspended because of strong winds.

SSEN reported power cuts in the Alyth, Glen Isla, Glen Lyon, Montrose and Inchture areas of Tayside, Enzie, Portgordon, Buckie, Banff and Tarland in the north east, and Taynuilt, Spean Bridge, Drumnadrochit and Fort Augustus areas in the north west.

The firm said 18,500 customers of a total of 27,000 who had been affected remained cut off at 4.30pm. A SSEN spokesperson said: "Due to the widespread extent of the damage, ongoing adverse weather conditions and challenges accessing faults due to fallen trees and road closures, full network restoration will take time. Some customers in rural areas may be off supply for up to 48 hours.”

ScottishPower Energy Networks said some 200 of 2,600 affected customers remained without power by late afternoon, but they were expected to be reconnected within hours. Power cuts included in Haddington, Cupar, Tayport, Newport-on-Tay, St Andrews, Kilmacolm, Ayr, Newton Stewart and Castle Douglas.

The Sepa flood warnings included for the Whitesands area of Dumfries, Newton Stewart and Langholm. There were also warnings for Haddington in East Lothian, Aberfoyle in the Trossachs, Dalry in North Ayrshire, the River Isla in Angus and the Churchill Barriers in Orkney.

Warnings in the Borders included for the River Teviot in Hawick and between Hawick and Monteviot, the River Lyne between West Linton and Peebles, the River Tweed between Drumelzier and Dawyck, and the River Jed between Jedburgh and Camptown.

Stein Connelly, from Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland, said: “This type of weather isn't unusual for this time of year, but yellow warnings do mean the potential for significant travel disruption and that's what we're seeing today across the road and rail network, with ferry services also impacted.

"Please check traffic.gov.scot for any impacts on the trunk road network. If you are using public transport, please note services are impacted, so make sure to check with your operator for the latest information.”