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DEADLY & DESTRUCTIVE
Storm Isha’s horror 168mph gales claim Scots victim after car hits fallen tree – now Storm Jocelyn set to hit
Wind speeds reached 168mph overnight as forecasters issued a rare red danger to life warning
AN OAP died after his car crashed into a fallen tree during Storm Isha — an hour after cops had been called to the scene.
The pensioner lost his life as the deadly storm wreaked havoc across Scotland leaving more than 90,000 homes without power and travellers facing air, road and rail chaos.
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Officers had left the spot before Sunday night’s fatal smash on the A905 at Beancross Road, Grangemouth, near Falkirk.
The 84-year-old victim, who was a passenger in the Hyundai motor, was pronounced dead after the horror crash.
Police were alerted at around 10.20pm that the tree had toppled on to the road as 99mph winds battered Scotland.
But it’s understood they left before the tragedy shortly before midnight.
A fallen tree also led to the death of a van driver during the storm in Limavady, Northern Ireland.
In Ireland, a man in his 40s also died in a storm-related crash after his motor skidded on a flooded road in County Mayo.
A Police Scotland spokesman said last night: “Around 10.20pm on Sunday, officers attended a call relating to fallen trees and cars stuck on Beancross Road, Grangemouth.
“Around 11.45pm a serious crash occurred on the same road where an 84-year-old man died.
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“Enquiries are ongoing into the full circumstances surrounding this incident and we are supporting his family.”
Road Policing Inspector Andrew Thomson added: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the man who died and all the others involved.”
Officers revealed the elderly victim was sitting in the front seat of the Hyundai. The other occupants of the vehicle were not injured.
The road was closed while investigations were carried out and reopened around 6am on Monday morning.
The road deaths occurred as a rare red weather warning was issued overnight amid fears of tornados — with 168mph winds recorded in Glencoe, Perthshire.
Scots were among air travellers on diverted flights or left stranded overseas.
All trains were cancelled as trees and debris were blown on to lines while commuters faced misery as motorways and bridges closed.
Humza Yousaf co-ordinated the emergency response from ministers’ Resilience Room — as Storm Jocelyn arrives to give the UK another battering today.
The First Minister said: “Tragically, Storm Isha has led to lives being lost and I send my sincere condolences to the families affected.
“The strong winds and heavy rain have impacted communities across Scotland.
“I want to thank all those who have worked throughout the night and today to keep the public safe. But the exceptional weather conditions are not over.
“Storm Jocelyn is on its way to the UK and is likely to cause more disruption, with another period of strong winds further buffeting our infrastructure and rain falling on already saturated ground.”
Hundreds of passengers were left stranded in Cologne overnight after four flights to Edinburgh were diverted.
An EasyJet Amsterdam-Glasgow service was diverted to Manchester following an “aborted” landing.
Meanwhile a plane bound for Edinburgh from Fuerteventura was also forced to make an emergency landing there after a “missed approach”.
And an emergency was declared on a plane taking passengers from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt to Glasgow after seven hours in the air — due to the monstrous gusts.
Paul White, 49, was among passengers stranded when his flight from Glasgow to Dublin was cancelled an hour before take-off.
He said: “I got here this morning and I was told it wasn’t going.”
Nurse Imogen Hart, 25, of Aberdeen, due to make a 26-hour trip to her native Perth, Australia, told of being switched from Edinburgh to Glasgow to try to make her connecting flight to Frankfurt.
She said: “We found out at 11pm last night that my 6am flight to Frankfurt from Edinburgh wasn’t happening. They booked me in for a flight leaving Glasgow this morning at 11am.
“I had just come off a night shift as my sleep is out of whack anyway but we were so lucky to get down here before the roads closed.”
Edinburgh Airport said: “Our teams worked well under challenging circumstances.
“Our advice to passengers is to check with the airline they are flying with for any updates to their flight.”
Stretches of the M9 and M74 were closed while the A1 was blocked by an overturned lorry at Thorntonloch, East Lothian.
High winds forced the closure of the Tay Road Bridge. A fallen tree crushed a burger van in East Kilbride’s Peel Park.
IT manager Alastair Gow, 42, told how he narrowly missed the crash after parking his car next to the van on Saturday evening.
He said: “The tree came down and destroyed the van. I am very lucky it was not my car.”
The roof was ripped off a school building in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire. Bosses at St Mary’s Primary School read: “Due to significant damage to the outdoor classroom, the Dundyvan Road Gate will remain closed as none of the debris is contained or safe with some still up in trees.
“Please avoid passing by in case a gust of wind catches anything.”
Workmen toiled to clear tree trunks blocking the A833 at Belladrum near Beauly, Inverness-shire.
Rail bosses confirmed more than ten trees on tracks between Easterhouse and Garrowhill in the east end of Glasgow.
Branches also covered the line at Arrochar, Argyll.
All Scots services are set to be suspended again from 7pm tomorrow night while early-morning services have also been axed to allow for safety checks.
Martin Thomson of Transport Scotland said: “We can expect to see more delays and cancellations with ferries, flights and rail from Tuesday into Wednesday morning.”
Meanwhile scaffolding collapsed next to a building in Magdalene Gardens, Edinburgh. And a Rangers banner was ripped from the Broomloan Stand at the club’s Ibrox Stadium.
And a huge trampoline was blown up in the city’s Merrylee.
The heavy winds also sparked chaos across the energy network, with more than 90,000 households across the country losing power.
SP Energy Networks said engineers were “continuing to work across central and southern Scotland to restore power”.
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A spokesman said: “The storm affected 62,000 customers on the network, with power restored to 58,500 customers so far.”
Scottish and Southern Electricity Network said it had restored around 33,000 customers on its network.
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