Storm Barra: Power cuts hit north and north east Scotland
- Published
Hundreds of homes in north and north east Scotland have been left without electricity in the wake of Storm Barra.
The new power cuts came just days after supplies were restored after last month's Storm Arwen caused widespread damage to the network.
Utility firm SSEN said engineers had restored power to about 9,000 customers across the north of Scotland.
As of 11:45, there were less than 600 without power, with the majority of those in Aberdeenshire.
SSEN said: "We are expecting to restore power to all customers affected by Storm Barra today."
While the storm is moving away some flood warnings or alerts remain in place.
Some rail services are also affected, with cancellations affecting a few routes in the west of Scotland and speed restrictions in force for others.
CalMac also said certain timetables had been adjusted after some ferry services were cancelled.
Braemar Mountain Rescue Team said it had a "very challenging" rescue of a man stranded at Fords of Avon in the Cairngorms.
Storm Barra moved in from the west on Tuesday, and a yellow weather warning for wind is in place from midnight until 18:00 on Wednesday for the west coast of Wales and south-west England.
Switch just been thrown here just outside Kintore for a number of homes cut off towards Hatton Of Fintray. The River Don has burst its banks here too, flooding the road and the field. pic.twitter.com/caTc9KBCqS
— Davy Shanks (@Davyshanks) December 8, 2021
Some schools in Dumfries and Galloway were forced to close because of the weather.
Stranraer Academy was shut after the wind caused structural damage to the roof, the council said, and Drummore School closed after trees were blown down.
All the sites were able to reopen on Wednesday morning.
The West Coast Main Line was shut for a time near Lockerbie after a fallen tree damaged overhead lines on Tuesday afternoon.
Services were able to run again after a few hours of closure.
On Wednesday some primary schools in Aberdeenshire decided to remain closed due to lack of power and heating, including Bracoden, Rhynie and Strathdon schools.
Despite previous disruption, Met Office forecasters said Storm Barra was not expected to cause as much chaos as Storm Arwen.
Spokeswoman Nicky Maxey said: "Storm Barra will bring strong winds and heavy rainfall to many parts of the UK today. We may see some snow on the higher ground, too.
"It is unlikely to be as impactful as Storm Arwen last week but there will be blustery conditions so people should still be prepared."
Good morning to you all. Low pressure will maintain unsettled conditions today, but it'll be a much weaker feature compared with yesterday. Details, from Kirsteen. pic.twitter.com/8ubmrKAFhH
— BBC Scotland Weather (@BBCScotWeather) December 8, 2021
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