Winds Batter Scotland Ahead Of Snow

Ferocious winds are continuing to batter Britain causing travel disruption - as snow is predicted for later today.

Two men were reported lost at sea after getting into trouble in the water off the coast of Brighton in severe weather'' in the early hours of this morning.

Lifeboats and helicopters have been searching for the pair throughout the night, but have not found them.

Yesterday, tens of thousands of homes were left without power across Scotland as record-breaking winds of to 113mph lashed the country.

The bad weather caused chaos, toppling power lines, uprooting trees and causing widespread disruption to rail and ferry services.

The worst affected areas were the Highlands and islands of Scotland were the worst affected areas, with 100,000 properties were cut off from electricity.

ScotRail was forced temporarily to suspend all train services over safety reasons yesterday while ferries were cancelled, roads closed and a lorry blown over on a motorway by the powerful gusts.

National Rail warned of fresh travel misery today, with train services throughout Scotland into the north of England widely disrupted due to poor weather conditions''.

A gust of 113mph was recorded at Stornoway on Lewis yesterday, the strongest since records at that site began in 1970, while winds of 76mph were recorded at High Bradfield, in South Yorkshire, and in Aberdaron, Gwynedd.

And heavy gales hit Scotland again, with gales just over 80mph recorded just off the north west coast, and winds expecting to become even stronger later this morning.

Shetland has been given an amber wind warning by the Met Office urging people to be prepared''.

Forecasters said they will be accompanied by snow with yellow be prepared'' weather alerts in place for all of Scotland, the north and Midlands of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: Another low pressure system is just tracking to North West Scotland bringing winds across the area of 50-60mph and causing gusts of up to 80mph.

And off the back of that there are areas that are still trying to restore power. Conditions for climbing up poles are not ideal when you have 60mph winds. And it will be generally windy across the UK.''

But despite the powerful winds, temperatures have remained unseasonably balmy hitting 16C (61F) in Exeter.

Mr Partridge said the warm temperatures are not quite record breaking but they are very rare''.

But the mercury is set to plunge today as sleet and snow hit large swathes of Britain.

Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said: As we go through Saturday morning a band of squally rain will move south eastwards and that's going to bring brighter but much colder conditions behind it.

Some showers are likely to be heavy and may well fall as sleet or snow, particularly in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England and some of the showers could bring significant accumulations, particularly over higher ground.

We could widely see 2cm to 4cm (up to 1.5ins) of snow, and perhaps 8cm (just over 3ins) on the highest ground.That could cause major disruption to travel so there are yellow warnings in place for affected areas.

As it moves south it will leave colder conditions so after a mild night temperatures will really tumble to 4 or 5C (39.2F-41F).''

Engineers are working to reconnect homes that remain off the grid and Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution said staff are facing a monumental task'' in getting to damaged lines in remote parts of the country.

''Welfare vans'' have been sent to the worst affected areas in the north of Scotland offering free hot food and drinks, while care has been organised for the most vulnerable customers, the company said.

In Inverness, the Premier Inn hotel was evacuated at around 3am yesterday after a gable wall collapsed, while there was also damage to properties in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Flood alerts and warnings remain in place for the central belt of Scotland and East Anglia amid fears potent winds could conjure large waves, causing coastal damage.

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

National Rail said trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow Central via Carstairs will divert and not call at Motherwell today.

While flooding near Kingussie in the Scottish Highlands has meant trains are not running between Perth and Inverness.