Travel Disruption And Power Cuts After #Scotstorm

All ScotRail services have been suspended until further notice for safety reasons'' after strong winds battered the country, the company said.

Network Rail is inspecting lines for damage caused by the hurricane-force winds which brought gusts of up to 110mph.

A spokesman for ScotRail said: For safety reasons it will be necessary for Network Rail to inspect rail lines across the network for damage this morning before allowing passengers to travel on routes.'

Schools have been closed and travel restrictions are in place after the storm.

Stornoway Coastguard said they were called out with the council to help an 80-year-old woman whose window had blown in.

The Forth Road Bridge has also been closed to all vehicles after a van blew over just before 1am, while many roads around the country have been affected by fallen trees.

Around 70,000 people have reportedly been left without power in the Highlands and islands.

Several CalMac and NorthLink ferry services have been affected by disruption or cancellations.

Amber warnings have been issued by the Met Office for the north and central belt of Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, as an Atlantic jet stream reaches land.

Gusts between 60mph and 70mph are expected in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, where the Met Office has put in place yellow ''be prepared'' warnings.

The worst of the weather is due in the early hours of the morning with disruption expected during the morning rush-hour, particularly north of the border.

It is feared buildings could be damaged, trees uprooted and travel and power lines affected by the high winds, similar to those which caused widespread damage in 2013.

The ferocious gales have been stirred up by an extra-powerful jet stream triggered by plunging temperatures in the United States hitting warmer air in the south.

Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution later confirmed that around 69,000 customers are off supply across the north of the country.

Engineers have been dispatched to deal with around 150 faults caused by the high winds.

A company spokeswoman said: We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience this is causing and thank them for their patience.''

Police in Inverness said that several roads and bridges, including the Skye Bridge and Dornoch Bridge, have been closed in northern Scotland.

Flood warnings are in place in central and northern Scotland and all schools in the Western Isles and Orkney have been closed as a precaution, with ferry and train timetables reduced because of the winds.

Will Lang, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: ''The winds will be at their strongest through the early hours of Friday and this brings the potential for disruption across Scotland, but there is a chance that strong, gusty winds could persist into the early part of the morning rush-hour as well.

''We'd advise anyone planning to travel during the early part of the morning and into the early rush-hour to be prepared for some transport disruption and check traffic and travel conditions before heading out to ensure you can make your journey safely.''

Lashing rain is also to continue along the west coast today and over the weekend as a second storm is predicted to bring more gale-force winds tomorrow.

The AA warned that drivers faced ''potentially hazardous'' conditions.

Forecaster Mr Lang said a wave of far cooler temperatures will hit which look set to bring snow flurries to parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, especially on the higher ground.

And north west England and Wales could also be hit by snowstorms over hilly areas.

The storm has already caused travel disruption with Dublin airport cancelling flights due to ''severe gusty winds''.

The bad weather led to delays to CrossCountry trains running between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Newcastle while in Kent a broken-down train at Westgate-On-Sea caused hold-ups to services between Margate and Chatham.

On the roads, high-sided vehicles were advised to avoid using the Ouse Bridge on the M62 in Yorkshire.

Speaking about rail services in Scotland, Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT transport union, said: It is absolutely right that safety comes first and our members are out there on the tracks in appalling conditions this morning ensuring that the infrastructure has survived the battering overnight.

These weather conditions once again shine the spotlight on just how important it is that we have the staffing levels needed to carry out the safety-critical work on our railways that is under way right now.

The cuts being demanded at the moment by the Government through the Office of Rail Regulation threaten those safe staffing levels right across the board.''