Storm Ingunn: Norwegian blast brings 107mph winds to UK as ‘danger to life’ warnings spark rail & flight chaos

STORM Ingunn's Norwegian blast has brought 107mph winds to the UK - as "danger to life" warnings spark rail and flight chaos.

Severe gales are forecast for northern Britain after the Norwegian Meteorological Institute named the storm earlier today.

Forecasters said the strength of the wind will continue to increase this morning with two yellow weather warnings in place for Wednesday.

A gust of 106mph was recorded on top of Aonach Mor, a mountain in the Scottish Highlands this morning.

Drivers have been urged to stick to main roads, grip their steering wheel firmly, leave plenty of space on either side of their car and avoid wind tunnels between trees and buildings.

More than 40 train services were cancelled in Scotland this morning morning, and ferry operator Carmac scrapped all its services.

Meanwhile a Cargolux cargo plane bound for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was diverted to Manchester this afternoon due to safety concerns after experiencing strong winds.

Met Office expert Grahame Madge told The Sun: "The greatest impacts from Storm Ingunn, which was named by the Norwegian Met Service, will be affecting the Faroe Islands and Norway.

"As the main core of this low-pressure system moves well to the north of the UK, parts of Scotland and northern England have wind warnings in place for impacts associated with Storm Ingunn.

"We have seen some strong wind gusts already, but the greatest impacts will be expected in Scandinavia."

The warnings cover the North, Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland.

The first covers the most northern parts of Scotland from 5am to 7pm.

It stretches from the Shetland Isles, right across the northern tip of Scotland and out to the Outer Hebrides.

The warning states that there is a "small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur" from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.

Gusts of 65 to 75 mph are likely, with a few places perhaps seeing powerful winds of up to 85 mph at times, say the Met Office.

Forecasters say strong winds have the potential to bring travel chaos, blow down trees and even cause power cuts, as well as resulting in road disruption with potential restrictions on high-sided vehicles.

The Met Office added that there was a small chance of "damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs".

There is a small chance some roads and bridges may close and travellers could expect to face longer journey times as road, air and ferry services could be affected.

Forecasters said that over northwest Scotland these windy conditions will be accompanied by heavy rain for a time, during the morning and early afternoon.

The Met Office also issued another yellow weather warning for strong winds which comes into force place from 9am today until 5pm tomorrow.

This second warning covers the rest of Scotland and down into northern England, covering Newcastle as well as northern parts of Northern Ireland.

Northern parts of the UK could also see heavy rain on Wednesday, according to the Met Office.

Further south though it will be drier and breezy, but turning increasingly cloudy along with some drizzly outbreaks in the southwest.