Winds hit 84mph as Storm Isha batters Cumbria and southern Scotland

A garden shed was destroyed in Brampton. Credit: ITV

There is widespread disruption in Cumbria and southern Scotland following gusts of up to 84mph as Storm Isha battered the region.

The flood siren was sounded in Appleby as Storm Isha caused disruption in Cumbria.

Carlisle East Fire Station posted on X, formerly Twitter, that they had to close a main street in Carlisle city centre.

Botchergate was closed by police due to an unsafe structure which led to debris falling from numerous buildings.

Carlisle East Fire Station said that they will be back out to assess the building on Botchergate once it is deemed safe.

A car was submerged underwater in Warwick-on-Eden. Credit: ITV

The Dumfries and Galloway Virtual Operations Support Team identified a number of roads that had been closed. These included the A75, A701, A716 and the B727.

Dumfries and Galloway Scottish Fire and Rescue say that due to the risk to life and the number of trees down it will take a number of hours to clear the roads blocked in the region.

There is major disruption to the rail network throughout Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

There have been multiple trees blocking the line between Wetheral and Hexham meaning there is disruption between Hexham and Carlisle.

There are no services running between Carlisle and Dumfries due to the disruption caused by the winds and local flooding.

The view of Annan station where there are no services operating. Credit: ITV

Widespread disruption is also seen on the West Coast Mainline as services to and from Carlisle, Penrith and Oxenholme with the weather expected to disrupt Avanti West Coast and TransPennine Express services.

TransPennine Express has issued a "do not travel" warning to customers for Monday 22 January. They say that people should check their journeys that they have planned for tomorrow with further disruption potentially impacting services.

ScotRail has advised customers that services will be suspended from 7pm on Tuesday and there will be no rush hour services on Wednesday morning due to Storm Jocelyn.

Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “The heavy wind and ongoing rain hitting most parts of the country mean that it will not be safe for our customers and our staff, and all ScotRail train services will be suspended from 19.00 tomorrow.

“This is the second withdrawal of train services this week, and we know the impact this has on customers, but the safety of staff and passengers will always be our priority.

“Our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland will again be working flat out to carry out safety checks, and assess what repairs are required to reopen the railway.

“However, customers will be unable to travel early on Wednesday morning, as trains will not be able to operate until the infrastructure has been made safe.

“We will update our website, mobile app, and social media feeds when we have more information, and customers should check for the latest updates before they attempt to travel.”

Cars were underwater due to the weather in Cumbria. Credit: PA

Kathryn O’Brien, Customer Experience and Operations Director for TransPennine Express said: “Our number one priority is to keep our customers and colleagues safe, and we will be doing all we can to keep people moving in difficult conditions.

“We are urging anyone travelling across the affected routes to plan ahead, allow extra time, check their journey up until the last minute, and follow the guidance provided.”

There has also been multiple lorries being overturned on the M6.

The M6 remains closed between Junction 39 and 38 between Shap and Tebay with recovery ongoing for overturned lorries.

Thousands of people were left without power through southern Scotland and Cumbria. Credit: PA

Electricity North West have made progress to restore power to more than 36,000 properties with more than 120 individual damages reported.

Work is still ongoing to restore power to 8,500 more homes. Electricity North West say that conditions are particularly testing in the North Lakes.

A tree was blown down blocking a road in Brampton. Credit: ITV

Steph Trubshaw, Electricity North West’s customer director, said: “Conditions are some of the worst we’ve seen in a long time and for several hours, we saw wind speeds regularly reach 80mph.

“Given how severe the weather was, last night, for safety reasons, we made the decision to stand teams down as it was simply too dangerous for engineers to climb.

Towns and villages throughout the region were suffering from flooding. Credit: ITV

“This morning, hundreds of colleagues are going to be assessing damage on the network and where conditions allow, we’ll start to climb to and carry out permanent repairs.” 

Electricity North West have deployed helicopters to assess the damage caused as they still have 120 sites needing repairs.

They are urging people to report any lines they see that are down.

A yellow warning for wind remains in place for Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders.

This is in place until midday on Wednesday 24 January.

There was significant flooding in Appleby. Credit: ITV

A statement from the Met Office says: "A spell of strong west or southwesterly winds is likely to affect Northern Ireland, north Wales, northern England and much of Scotland from Tuesday evening.

"Winds are likely to gust 50-60 mph. There is potential for winds to gusts 60-70 mph in a few places, although it is not yet clear where the most likely location for the stronger winds is at this time. Further updates to this warning are likely in the coming days."

Storm Jocelyn has been named by the Met Office and is expected to bring further disruption throughout the region.

Electricity North West has announced that they will be providing catering facilities for people who are still without power.

These can be found at the following locations:

  • The Black Swan – Ravenstonedale Kirkby Stephen CA17 4NG

  • Soulby Village Hall Kirkby Stephen – CA17 4PL

  • Plumbland Village Hall School Lane, Wigton CA7 2DQ

  • Superior Catering at Kirkby Thore Parish Memorial Hall Kirkby Thore CA10 1XN

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