Hurricane Katia Hits Central Scotland

There's sever weather warnings out across Central Scotland as the tale end of Hurrican Katia prepares to hit.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England could see trees brought down with gusts of up to 80mph expected to pummel the region, forecasters said.

The remains of Hurricane Katia will move eastwards across northern Scotland today, bringing a spell of "very windy weather'' to the UK and also heavy rain to western Scotland, according to the Met Office website.

Yesterday afternoon a meeting of the Scottish Government Resilience Room heard how preparations were being made as the remnants of Hurricane Katia raced towards British shores.

Transport Minister Keith Brown said, "Transport Scotland's Multi Agency Response Team has been activated and will be up and running before rush-hour. Extra power and transport staff are being moved in to areas likely to be affected, and utility companies are contacting their priority customers.

Robust contingency arrangements are in place so people should not panic but we should be prepared. For example, there is likely to be some disruption to roads, rail and ferry services, so travellers are advised to allow more time for journeys.''

He continued, "The high winds and heavy rain are expected to peak on Monday afternoon and evening, so commuters are advised that if they can leave work earlier that would be a very sensible step to help avoid rush-hour delays. We are all working hard to keep Scotland moving and I urge everyone to allow extra time for travel, avoid unnecessary risks and keep checking websites and local radio for real-time information.''

A spokeswoman for train operator ScotRail said last night, "ScotRail advises customers to check its website before travel.

We are monitoring the situation and, as a precaution, have arranged to have extra staff in place for start of service on Monday.

In addition, contingency plans are in place for the introduction of temporary timetables, where appropriate, following the Met Office advising that there is the potential for 60-70 mph gusts of wind and a risk of disruption to transport due to the possibility of damage to trees and structures.''