From the big breeze to the big freeze: After hurricane-force gusts destroy wind turbines Britain braces itself for snow and bitter cold

Storm II set to lash whole of the UK from Monday afternoon and into Tuesday



Met Office release weather warning of severe gales and heavy rainfall



50,000 homes still without power in Scotland after country battered by hurricane-force winds



300ft high turbine explodes and another collapses

Five hikers who went missing in 165mph winds in the Cairngorms are found safe and well



Huge clear-up as lorries tip over in high winds and Grampian firefighters called out to 75 storm incidents

ScottishPower forced to switch off 'most' of its 15 wind turbines

· Bookies say 5-2 odds of a white Christmas in Aberdeen and a 5-1 chance snow in London on December 25


Britain was tonight bracing itself for snow and bitter cold after the country was battered by hurricane-force winds of up to 165mph amid fears that Storm II is set to lash the whole of the UK.



Temperatures will plunge as low as -4C in Scotland and -2C in northern England tonight - and up to two inches of snow could fall on higher ground north of the border, the Met Office said today.

Blizzards, snowdrifts and black ice are expected across Scotland, the Pennines and in parts of North Wales , with frost covering much of the rest of Britain.

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Through the wardrobe: But this Narnia-like scene is in Scargill, County Durham, yesterday after heavy snowfall overnight in northern England

Snow crash: A driver is assisted by police after being involved in an accident on the A66 in County Durham yesterday Clear-up: A plough is used to keep the road open after heavy snow on the A66 in County Durham



There will be continuing wind and rain in the south but the worst of the winds will be confined to north-east Scotland and the Shetland Isles. The Met Office have confirmed that they are forecasting a second severe storm of much wider scope to hit Britain from Monday afternoon onwards and into Tuesday. Dan Williams, Met Office forecaster, said: 'After the weekend, it's looking very unsettled and wet and windy across England in particular. We have a weather warning out for Tuesday for high winds.' He was backed by Tim Ballisty, a meteorologist at weather.com, said: 'What is interesting about this next storm is that the huge weather system that slammed into Scotland on Thursday was very constrained, its damage was limited to Scotland. 'However, next week's storm looks likely to cover the whole of the UK, it is tremendously wide and has a much broader scope to it.' Bookies William Hill today shortened the odds of a white Christmas to 5-2 in Aberdeen with a 5-1 chance of snow falling in London on December 25. This afternoon around 50,000 homes were still without power in Scotland after winds of up to 165mph battered the country yesterday. The day of high winds could cost the country's economy around £100 million, business experts have warned. Early closures, blocked roads, power outages and employees staying at home caused a drop in both revenue and productivity.

Analysts from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the lost revenue caused by winter weather could push already struggling businesses over the edge. The Scottish Government said 110 incidents occurred across the country's roads, including fallen trees and power lines, the recovery of seven HGVs, 24 cases of flooding, and landslips.

The Traffic Scotland website saw a record 24 million hits over the course of yesterday. Five men who went missing while hiking in the Cairngorms were found safe and well after a major search was launched for them today. Fears had been growing for the group - all aged between 29 and 40 - who had not been seen since Wednesday. The mountains were hit by the highest wind speeds in the country. Winding road: Hills in Scargill, County Durham, are covered in snow as Britain is hit by another round of cold weather Grim: Motorists on the A66 in County Durham yesterday in appalling conditions. The Met office has issued more storm warnings for early next week Damage: The Ford Ka was destroyed when the bricks were blown out of the roof of this block of flats in Aberdeen The appalling conditions brought huge areas of the country to a standstill as lorries were blown over, roads and bridges closed, and ferries cancelled. ScottishPower said today that it had reconnected more than 18,000 customers who had lost power because of over 100 individual faults. Scottish Hydro said around 50,000 of their customers had been left without electricity. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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British schoolgirl, 16, becomes youngest person to ski to... Arctic conditions leave Britain shivering as gales and... Share this article Share In one spectacular incident yesterday a 300ft wind turbine exploded in flames as it was buffeted by the high winds. Another wind turbine was completely blown down on Wednesday, raising questions about the ability of wind farms to cope with the weather. The flaming £2million wind turbine was in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland. Witnesses said its blades were locked at the time, because the National Grid would be unable to cope with a sudden power surge. Photographer Stuart McMahon, who took the incredible image, said: ‘The centre of the turbine caught fire first and the flames spread to the covering of the blades. ‘There was burning debris being swept off in the wind and across the fields. These are huge structures and to see one on fire was a spectacular sight.’ The turbine knocked over by high winds near Coldingham in the Borders caused several homes to be evacuated and a road to be closed. Crushed: The Ford Ka is completely destroyed as the gable end of a block of flats was blown on top of it as high winds hit Aberdeen Thick coats: Highland cattle are seen amongst the snow close to the A66 near Brough yesterday

A £2million, 100metre-tall wind turbine caught fire in hurricane-force winds at Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland, during severe weather earlier this week

Burning: The flaming debris from the wind turbines flew off into nearby fields due to the wind Gritter army: A team of workers on quad bikes bought by Southend Council to spread grit in snow and ice. The three bikes feature large ploughs on the front and containers on the back which can carry up to 260kg of grit - enough to cover 15 miles of road

Although ScottishPower has not blamed the weather for its collapse, Lothian and Borders Police said the turbine ‘suffered brake system failure and had been freewheeling’ in 50mph winds. Charles Anglin, of RenewableUK, the trade and professional body for the UK wind and marine renewables industries, stressed that wind turbines were regularly subjected to 'some pretty tough conditions' without problem.

He said: 'There's some pretty freak weather going on and any piece of large power generating equipment can be subject to freak accidents or mechanical faults.

'But there's an excellent health and safety record, and it was only a small fire in a field that was put out before the fire brigade got there, and no one was hurt.

'In stressful situations any power equipment may develop faults, and that's true of gas, nuclear, oil, and is also true of wind.'

A lorry near Dunbar, Scotland, is seen on its side after hurricane-force winds closed schools, cut off power to tens of thousands of homes, and forced rescue missions in parts of Britain Flurry: A farm is covered in snow near the A66 in Brough as Britain braced itself for a big freeze Soldiers from Catterick Garrison train in the snow on the firing ranges outside Leyburn, North Yorkshire yesterday ScottishPower, which has 15 wind farms north of the Border, said turbines were switched off at ‘most of them’. The wind turbine destroyed was not theirs.

A spokesman said: ‘Individual turbines have self-protection mechanisms that are activated in sustained storm force winds to prevent damage. They re-activate when the wind speed drops.’

Scottish and Southern Energy refused to disclose how many of its turbines were affected. A spokesman for National Grid said: ‘At lunchtime, 1,500MW of electricity that was expected to be generated by wind farms in Scotland wasn’t being produced, although we can’t tell if that’s all down to the high winds or wind farms just deciding not to generate. ‘That 1,500MW is enough to supply about one million homes.’ But the spokesman said operators were not paid compensation – ‘constraint payments’ – to shut down yesterday. This happens when operators have to deactivate turbines because the Grid cannot accommodate the energy they produce. He added: ‘The company’s electricity demand forecasting team had already anticipated wind farms shutting down because of the high winds, and the company had made sure there was enough back-up power available to keep the lights on.’

Sir Bernard Ingham, secretary of the pressure group Supporters of Nuclear Energy, said it was 'ridiculous' that wind had killed off a wind turbine. He said: 'They are no good when the wind doesn't blow and they are no good when the wind does blow. What on earth is the point of them?



'They represent the most ridiculous waste of people's money.'

Cars and lorries make their way along the A66 near Brough, after heavy snow in recent days

Cold snap: As lorries make their way down the A66, engineers were working to restore power to 50,000 homes without power

Sir Bernard, who was Margaret Thatcher's Downing Street press secretary, added: 'Let's go into something that works. It's called nuclear.'



British coastguard teams were involved in an international rescue mission this morning after two merchant ships collided in choppy conditions.

Seven people were rescued from liferafts after the collision in the Bay of Biscay.



Falmouth Coastguard co-ordinated the rescue mission, 240 miles south-west of Lands End, with the Spanish, French and U.S. coastguards after the collision took place at 3.30am.

It involved a small cargo ship, the Florece, registered to the Dominic Republic, and the Afrodite, a chemical tanker from the Bahamas, a coastguard spokesman said.

A spokesman for the coastguard said sea conditions were 'rough but not extreme' but added that it was still unclear if the weather conditions were a factor of the crash.

Another storm: Waves break over the harbour wall at Portstewart, in County Londonderry

Damage to drystone walls, caused by flooding from yesterday's storms, near Reeth, North Yorkshire

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: ‘So far one bridge at Grinton has collapsed and police have concerns for a bridge at Low Witter Farm on the B6270.’

A search was being carried out near the swing bridge at Reeth after a torchlight was seen close to the river in case anyone was in danger.

In Cumbria, the Environment Agency has issued flood alerts on 12 rivers and lakes.

There was also a flood warning was also issued on the River Greta at Keswick.

Cumbria Police said they received a number of calls yesterday morning from motorists who had become stuck in flood water in the south of the county.

And the Low Wood Bay Hotel on the edge of Windermere was flooded, forcing staff to pump water out of the bar area and other public rooms.

A stricken trawler had to be rescued by lifeboat crews off the coast of Whitehaven, Cumbria.

Wales was also battered with strong winds, with one house in Wrexham having the chimney blown off its roof.

Last night the Met Office issued its strongest warning – a red alert – for winds in Scotland, meaning that ‘widespread structural damage’ was likely with the risk of roofs being blown off, mobile homes overturned and power lines brought down.

Forecasters also predicted ‘widespread transport disruption’ due to roads blocked by fallen trees.