Five dead as Storm Isha brings winds of 107mph

ITV News reports from up and down the country as winds surpass 100mph in some areas

Five people have died across the UK and Ireland as Storm Isha continues to cause disruption, leaving thousands without power.

Gales reached over 100mph in places after wind warnings were issued by the Met Office on Monday.

Transport Scotland said a gust of 107mph was recorded on the Tay Bridge, while the Met Office is recording the highest wind speed as 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland.

The bad weather has caused a series of fatal accidents, including a man reportedly falling into an exposed manhole Bradford.

Meanwhile, an 84-year-old man died after riding as a passenger in a car that crashed into a fallen tree in Grangemouth, Falkirk, on Sunday, Police Scotland have said.

He was sat in front seat and was declared dead at the scene, the force confirmed. The other occupants of the Hyundai were not injured.

First Minister Humza Yousaf paid tribute to the man, and warned of further disruption from the upcoming Storm Jocelyn.

Commuters were warned that ScotRail services would stop at 7pm on Tuesday, with no rush hour services on Wednesday morning – the second cancellation this week.

A 60-year-old man died in a road collision involving two vans and a fallen tree in Limavady, County Londonderry.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed the man was killed on Sunday.

In Ireland, two people have died in separate road incidents. A man in his 40s died in Mayo on Sunday after a storm-related car crash.

A woman in her 20s, who was a passenger in a van, also died after it hit a tree in Co Louth at 1.50am on Monday.

Multiple other people have been taken to hospital with serious injuries as a result of the storm.

It comes as the powerful storm swept in on Sunday battering the UK and Ireland and causing forecasters to enforce "unusual" danger-to-life wind warnings, with concerns a tornado may hit parts of Britain.

A number of weather warnings, including two amber wind alerts, were put in place by the Met Office across the UK, with a Status Red wind warning issued for several Republic of Ireland counties.

The next storm due to hit the UK and Ireland has been named by the Irish Meteorological Service as Storm Jocelyn, which is expected to cause strong winds from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

CCTV footage from Lincolnshire shows the moment a roof is ripped from a house and narrowly misses a moving car

Rail, air and sea travel disruption

Rail, sea and air travellers are facing significant disruption, with closures, cancellations and delays across a number of services after Storm Isha tore through the UK.

Rush-hour trains have been axed for many on Monday after the storm battered parts of the country, bringing warnings of possible tornadoes and danger-to-life winds.

Network Rail says routes continue to be impacted by Storm Isha after previously imposing 50mph speed restrictions to keep passengers and trains safe from falling trees and debris blown onto tracks.

Meanwhile, air traffic control restrictions were in place, leading to flight cancellations and causing some planes to divert.

In Scotland, the Irish Sea and the English Channel many ferry trips have been cancelled. 

Power blackouts, flying debris and fallen trees as weather warnings continue

Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said 45,000 customers were without power, while Electricity North West also said thousands of properties in north-west England had lost their supply.

Widespread power cuts in the Republic of Ireland were affecting more than 170,000 properties.

Fallen trees have affected transport, with Traffic Scotland reporting stretches of the M9 and M74 were among roads closed throughout the night, while the A1 southbound was closed at Thorntonloch due to an overturned lorry.

The Met Office has said “everybody” will be affected by the storm, while ITV Weather's Manali Lukha said it is "really unusual to see the whole country covered in wind warnings".

According to the forecaster, the highest recorded wind speed during Storm Isha was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland, with gusts of 90mph at Capel Curig in Snowdonia on Sunday.

Transport Scotland said a gust of 107mph was recorded on the Tay Bridge and the Met Office said there was one of 84mph at Salsburgh, North Lanarkshire.

A rare red warning for wind in north-east Scotland was in place until 5am on Monday, with amber warnings covering much of the UK until 6am and further yellow warnings covering the entire country until noon.

A further yellow warning for wind for Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and northern England is active from 4pm on Tuesday until noon on Wednesday.

Heavy downpours battered some places, with 28 flood warnings in place in England and 50 in Scotland.

Why is the UK experiencing so many named storms?

Storm Isha is the ninth named storm to hit the UK since the season began in September.

Each storm is named when it poses a risk to people and they are given names beginning with consecutive letters of the alphabet.

The record number of named storms in one year is when the Met Office began the practice in 2015-16, with Storm Katie being the 11th and final storm of the season.

If there are three more named storms between next week and August, this year will mark a new record.

Cold Arctic air pushing south into North America is making the jet stream more active, the Met Office said, and because it flows from west to east, it is bringing stormier weather to the UK.

Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna explains why we are experiencing so many storms in succession

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