Storm Ali’s trail of destruction as gales and heavy rain sweep through UK

Two people have been killed after Storm Ali swept through the UK with severe gales and heavy rainfall.

Rail, roads, flights and ferry services were all affected by the storm which saw trees blown down and buildings damaged by the force of the gusts up to 120mph.

A strong jet stream out of Canada is responsible for the spell of unsettled weather – which is expected to stay over the UK until Tuesday next week, the Met Office said.

Here are details of Storm Ali’s trail of destruction across Ireland and some parts of the UK.

:: One woman, reportedly a Swiss tourist in her 50s, died after her caravan was blown off a cliff in west Ireland.

:: One man in his 20s was killed and another in his 40s was injured after a tree fell on them in County Armagh as Ali battered Northern Ireland.

:: Around 75 flights were cancelled and 10 flights diverted from Dublin Airport on Wednesday due to strong winds from Ali.

:: At the peak of the disruption on Wednesday, ScottishPower said 60,000 homes had been affected while 13,000 SSE customers had experienced cuts.

:: ESB Network said 67,000 customers across Ireland were without power at one point – with fallen trees on overhead lines responsible for most of the damage to the network.

:: Electricity has been restored to more than 70,000 customers across Northern Ireland following Ali’s severe gales. Approximately 22,000 homes and businesses remained without power on Wednesday evening.

:: The Met Office said gusts of 91mph hit Killowen in Country Down.

:: 77mph winds were recorded in Kirkcudbrightshire in Scotland.

:: 74mph gusts hit Capel Curig in Wales and 68mph was recorded in St Bees Head, Cumbria.

:: Wind gust speeds of 102.2mph were recorded on the Tay Road Bridge in Scotland – which has been shut to all traffic.

In further disruptions, authorities in Dumfries and Galloway said they are struggling to cope with the number of trees which have been blown into roads.

A section of Princes Street in Edinburgh has been closed after parts of a shop roof flew off in strong winds.

Police Scotland was alerted to lead falling from the Topshop building at around 12.30pm on Wednesday.

Rail companies have urged customers not to travel, with ScotRail tweeting it is dealing with “severe disruption” across Scotland.

There are also severe train delays across Ireland due to line closures and debris on the line.

Sky News’ weather producer Joanna Robinson said Ali will continue to bring “damaging gusts of up to 80 miles an hour” across central, southern and eastern Scotland.

“As Storm Ali moves away this evening and overnight, the winds will ease across all areas, but it will stay windy in the north,” she said.

“Thursday will see heavy rain moving north-eastwards, bringing the risk of flooding across Wales and northwest England.”

Further unsettled spells could see winds strengthening again on Thursday night, with southern parts being affected.

(c) Sky News 2018: Storm Ali’s trail of destruction as gales and heavy rain sweep through UK