124mph winds, 22,500 homes without electricity, chaos on trains, planes and ferries as Floris batters northern Britain

TREES were felled and tens of thousands of homes were left without power yesterday as Storm Floris battered the British Isles with winds gusting up to 124mph.

- By Chris Riches

Airports, bridges, train stations and roads were closed, while tourist attractions pulled down their shutters due to the stormy conditions at the height of the school summer holidays.

Some 22,500 properties were without electricity in the Highlands and northeast of Scotland yesterday, according to Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, while Ireland saw 10,000 homes without power.

The top wind speed of 124mph was recorded in the Cairngorm mountain range in northern Scotland, according to Met Office data.

Elsewhere in the Highlands, Aonach Mor, also in Inverness-shire, and Cairnwell had gusts hitting 106mph.

But because mountain locations tend to see faster wind speeds, they are not used to measure official wind records.

However, yesterday’s highest ground-elevation wind recording was still very much on the brisk side, reaching 80mph on the Outer Hebrides island of South Uist.

Some 68 flights from UK airports were cancelled yesterday, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.

Careful

Rail routes across Scotland were shut and ferry operator CalMac also issued a series of cancellations.

A number of campervans were blown over on the A87 road, which leads to Portree on the Isle of Skye.

Strong winds and rain also disrupted 105 shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the city’s castle was forced to close.