Storm Arwen: Gale force winds bring travel disruption to Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife
A red weather warning's been issued by the Met Office
Last updated 26th Nov 2021
Storm Arwen has been causing disruption along Scotland's east coast - with the Met Office issuing a rare red weather warning for wind, and Police Scotland urging people in the affected areas not to travel at all.
Forecasters predicted gusts of up to 90mph would hit the country between 3pm today and 2am on Saturday morning.
Superintendent Simon Bradshaw from Police Scotland’s Road Policing Unit, said: “The high-winds being experienced along the coastal areas of the North, East and Southern parts of Scotland have led to Red Weather Warnings coming into effect and as such, any motorist within these affected regions should not travel under any circumstances.
“If you are currently within more in-land areas of these regions, then Amber and Yellow warnings are also in place and we are asking that you do not journey out unless for essential purposes and if you are doing so, to be mindful of the challenging conditions you will face.
“A number of local road closures and bridge restrictions may also be implemented during this period of adverse weather and we would advise the public to consult the Transport Scotland and Met Office websites for continuous and updated information."
What travel disruption has been caused by Storm Arwen?
The A1 was closed to high-sided vehicles this afternoon, with bosses warning a full closure was also likely.
In a statement issued shortly before 3pm, Tommy Deans, BEAR Scotland’s Network Manager for South East Scotland, said: “We’ve now closed the A1 to high sided vehicles for safety with winds gusting over 50mph.
“All road users are advised to take care and check for restrictions before travel. If we experience the very high wind speeds that are forecast later today, this will result in a full closure of the A1.
“Please check Traffic Scotland for the latest travel advice before setting off and consider whether your journey is essential.”
Later, they updated to say the road was closed completely between the Thistly Cross roundabout and Abbotsview Junction.
Rail bosses announced around 4pm an early suspension to East Coast Mainline services in and out of Scotland.
Sarah Reid, Route Director for Network Rail’s East Coast, said: “Severe weather such as this does cause problems for the railway and we are doing all we can to keep services moving where possible and it is safe to do so.
“However, we are expecting major service changes tonight and into the weekend, particularly with the closure of the East Coast Main Line in and out of Scotland from 17:00. We’d urge all passengers to check their individual journey ahead of travelling, which can be done by visiting National Rail Enquiries or their train operator’s website.”
Warrick Dent, LNER Safety and Operations Director, said: “We are encouraging our customers with tickets dated for today, 26 November and this coming weekend, to defer their travel arrangements where possible.
“We expect services to be extremely busy throughout the weekend and advise customers to check our website and social channels for the latest information.”
Scotrail also revealed it would call an early halt to services between Edinburgh, Dunbar and North Berwick.
Alex Hynes, managing director of Scotland’s Railway, said: “Safety of our customers and colleagues has to be our first consideration during severe weather. The Met Office has issued a rare red weather warning. We are monitoring the conditions very closely and will have teams in place across the country to react quickly to any damage caused by the weather.
“Where conditions are predicted to be most severe, we are withdrawing a small number of services in the interests of passenger safety until the worst of the storms have passed.”
Weekend cancellations
Away from travel, other events and services have been closed and cancelled because of the severe weather.
Organisers of Edinburgh Christmas markets announced an early closure because of safety concerns.
Fife Council also issued an appeal to parents.
What is a red weather warning?
Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, said: "They're only issued when we're advising people to take particular action in terms of weather.
"With this one, in addition to the sort of usual things, you know, structures would be at risk, people need to be aware of things like flying debris, falling trees, that sort of thing.
"In addition to this one, I would emphasise the risk for coastal communities. We are talking about wave heights that really are exceptional. I've heard sort of nine-10 metre waves out to sea, which is particularly noteworthy.
"We're looking at the vulnerability of people like coastal anglers, for example, shore fishermen, people visiting in order to get photos, all of these communities need to take particular care and assess the risk.
"And obviously, don't go if they feel that there's any risk to themselves or others by them being there.
"People need to recognise really, that, you know, we don't issue red warnings lightly, so therefore, when we do we feel that there is a much higher threat of risk.
"We urge people obviously to take action as a result of that and that action in this case is probably don't go to the coast."