Scotland has been hit by Storm Kathleen, bringing high winds of up to 90mph which caused disruption to weekend travel. Speed restrictions were imposed on railway lines, the Forth Road Bridge was closed to traffic, and several ferry services were cancelled. Approximately 70 flights arriving and departing from UK airports were also cancelled on Saturday morning, with flood warnings in place across the country. The Cairngorms experienced the strongest gusts, whilst wind speeds on the coast reached up to 70mph.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for high winds which was in place until 22:00 on Saturday. In Bathgate, a fallen tree on overhead lines disrupted train services to Edinburgh. Network Rail had engineers respond to an object that was blown onto overhead lines between Camelon and Larbert. ScotRail imposed a number of speed restrictions until 19:00, affecting services on the Borders line, West Highland services, and trains between Edinburgh and Carfin.
At Scotland’s airports, flights to Tiree, Barra and Dublin from Glasgow, and services to Stornoway and Belfast from Edinburgh were affected. CalMac also cancelled several services, including Ardrossan to Brodick, Oban to Castlebay, and Ullapool to Stornoway. Passengers were advised to check the status of sailings and to allow extra time for their journey.
In light of the storm, Sepa issued 33 flood warnings throughout Scotland. Sepa’s Flood Duty Manager, Vincent Fitzsimons, warned that flooding was expected across western coastal areas throughout the weekend. He added that a storm surge and large waves were expected to occur during this period. Waves overtopping coastal areas, causeways, coastal roads and paths posed a real danger to life, Fitzsimons advised, and warned that people should be careful when travelling in exposed coastal areas and avoid driving or walking through flood water due to hidden hazards.
Storm Kathleen is the 11th storm to be named during the 2023-24 season, making it the joint stormiest period since storm naming began in 2015. The Met Office issued yellow warnings for wind, covering the north west and south-west of England, parts of Northern Ireland, and Wales. A further yellow warning for wind has been issued for north-west Scotland on Sunday between 09:00 and 15:00. As warm air comes in from the continent, temperatures of up to 22C (72F) in Eastern England are predicted over the weekend
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