Storm Isha batters UK with strong winds and rain

Thousands of people across Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and north-west England have spent the night without power, after Storm Isha battered the UK with strong winds and heavy rain.

Gusts of 99 mph (159km/h) were recorded in Northumberland and travel disruption is set to continue into the afternoon.

An 84-year-old man in Fife, Scotland, died after a car he was a passenger in crashed into a fallen tree.

A Met Office yellow warning for wind remains across the UK until midday.

The Met Office said damage to homes and buildings, falling trees, power cuts and flying debris should be expected,with gusts of 50-60mph forecast inland, potentially reaching 70-80mph in exposed coastal stretches.

The highest gust so far recorded was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland.

The winds meant hundreds of flights were cancelled across the UK, and some who did make it into the air didn't land in at their intended destination.

An EasyJet flight from Edinburgh to Bristol on Sunday afternoon was diverted to Paris. As the original journey was domestic, many passengers had left their passports at home and spent the night stranded in the terminal in Charles de Gaulle.

A Tui flight travelling from Sharm El Sheikh to Glasgow Airport declared an emergency because of the storm and diverted to Manchester airport, and holidaymakers returning home from Tenerife on a Ryanair flight landed at Cologne Bonn airport in Germany after failing to touch down in Edinburgh.

The winds also saw the closure of the Tay Road Bridge, M48 Severn Bridge and the A66 in Durham and Cumbria between the A1(M) and the M6.

Network Rail has imposed a 50mph speed restrictions across most routes.

ScotRail has cancelled all of its rush-hour trains and warned services may not begin running until "later on Monday". There are reports of trees damaging overhead power cables on some lines.

The Southern rail route between Gatwick Airport and East Croydon is severely disrupted and travel is not advised until later on Monday.

East Midlands Railway has also said delays and alterations to its services were "likely", and LNER announced no trains will run north of Newcastle until midday.

Southeastern cancelled early Monday morning trains before 06:00 into and out of London to allow engineers to check for debris.

Meanwhile, ferry companies also announced a series of cancellations.

The power outages were affecting about 40,000 homes in Northern Ireland as of 07:30 on Monday, with 8,000 in north-west England and 3,000 in Wales also hit.

About 10,500 properties remain cut off off in the north of Scotland, with a further 12,000 properties without electricity in southern and central areas.

In the Republic of Ireland, about 235,000 homes and businesses are without power according to latest figures.

Two Met Office amber warnings took effect at 18:00 GMT on Sunday. One stretched across central, eastern and western England and all of Wales. The other covered all of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland. The red warning covered an area stretching from Thurso and Wick in the north, Fraserburgh and Peterhead to the east and Cromarty and Nairn in the west.

BBC Weather's Matt Taylor said Storm Isha was a low-pressure weather system that brought heavy snowfall to the north-eastern US at the end of last week, and developed as it crossed the Atlantic.

The Met Office has said the heavy rain could lead to flooding this week. As of just before 06:00 on Monday, the Environment Agency in England had issued 30 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 96 flood alerts, where flooding is possible. There are 50 flood warnings in place in Scotland and six in Wales.

After days of freezing temperatures and snow in some parts of the UK, higher temperatures are expected this week - but the Met Office has warned it may not feel warmer due to high winds.

Storm Isha follows Storm Henk, which hit the UK earlier this month, causing flooding and disruption, and is the ninth named storm since September.

The Met Office names storms when they have the potential to cause disruption or damage. The agency says it is easier for people to follow the progress of a storm on TV, radio or social media if it has a name.

What preparations are you making for the storm? Have your travel plans been affected? Share your experiences by emailing [email protected].

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