Woman in Galway and man in County Down die during first named storm of season

Two people have died and several others have required hospital treatment as Storm Ali swept across the north of Ireland, central Scotland and northern England on Wednesday with winds of over 100mph.

Throughout the day, thousands were left without power, or facing severe travel disruption as lorries overturned, roads were blocked by falling trees and train services were cancelled while, in south-west Scotland, children were banned from walking home from school because of the risk of injury from flying debris.

A man died and another man was injured after they were hit by a tree as they worked in a country park in Northern Ireland. The man who died, who was in his 20s, and the injured man, in his 40s, who was taken to hospital, were undertaking contract work for Northern Ireland Water in Slieve Gullion Forest Park, near Newry, County Down. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and the incident was being investigated by the region’s Health and Safety Executive.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An ambulance crashes into a fallen tree in Newcastle. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

Earlier, as the first named storm of the season struck during the morning rush hour, Irish police confirmed a woman had died when a caravan was blown off a cliff in the west of Ireland.

The woman was named locally as Elvira Ferraii, a Swiss holidaymaker who was staying at the Clifden ecoBeach camping and caravan park.

Irish police did not confirm the woman’s identity, but said: “Gardaí at Clifden, County Galway, are investigating an incident which occurred at Claddaghduff, County Galway, this morning.

“At approximately 7.45am, a report was received that a caravan had blown off the cliff at the above location. A search was carried out at the scene on the beach and after a short time the body of a female in her 50s was recovered.”

In Crewe, Cheshire, a woman was seriously injured after a tree fell on to her car, trapping her inside. Firefighters worked with a tree surgeon to help remove the tree before cutting off the roof of the vehicle and freeing her. She was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

The Met Office issued amber “be prepared” weather alerts along the path of the storm, which remained in place until 5pm. It said gusts of 91mph had been recorded in Killowen, County Down, on Wednesday morning but the strongest winds were felt in central and southern Scotland and north-east England later.

By the end of the day, more than 250,000 homes and businesses across Ireland were left without power, while 30,000 in the south-west of Scotland were similarly affected.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest People walk along Tynemouth beach in the north-east during strong winds. Photograph: Owen Humphreys/PA

A major incident involving “serious risk to life” was declared in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland, by the police and local council. The council’s virtual operations support team said that some children had already been injured and warned: “It is likely that, in order to keep pupils safe, we will not be allowing children to walk home from school at the end of the school day. Staff will remain in school to supervise pupils at the end of the school day until they can be collected. We are asking parents to collect their children in vehicles where possible or wait until the wind calms down.”

The storm caused widespread travel disruption across Scotland’s central belt, with all train services out of Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central’s high level suspended by early afternoon after damage to overhead power cables. Flights from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports were also delayed.

Q&A Tell us: how have you been affected by the weather? Show Hide If you have been affected by severe weather you can tell us about your experience using our encrypted form, or by sending your pictures and videos to the Guardian securely via WhatsApp by adding the contact +44(0)7867825056.

We will feature some of your contributions in our reporting.

Though we’d like to hear from you, your safety and security is most important. When responding please make sure you put your safety and the safety of others first. Severe weather events can be very unpredictable and carry very real risks.



Vehicles and pedestrians were stopped from using the Forth Road Bridge, while the Queensferry Crossing was shut to high-sided vehicles and double-decker buses. Restrictions were also put in place on Skye Bridge, while at 3pm a 102mph gust was recorded on the Tay Road Bridge between Dundee and Fife, which has also been closed to traffic.

A ship became detached from its moorings in strong winds at the port of Greenock, Inverclyde. Oceania Cruises said: “This afternoon, the … Nautica encountered extremely strong winds, which resulted in the parting of mooring lines and the vessel being detached from the dock. All guests and crew onboard are safe and there were no injuries.”

In the north of England, the M6 was closed northbound between junctions 43 and 44 after a lorry was blown over, while Highways England issued a severe weather alert for north-west and north-east England.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest High winds in Blackpool. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The Met Office also issued amber and yellow warnings for Cumbria, advising people to secure garden furniture, be aware of flying debris and take extra care on the roads.

Belfast city council said it had closed all parks, pitches and playgrounds, while dozens of roads in the north-west were also affected, with some closed due to fallen trees.

Ali is first on the storm names list for 2018-19 announced by the Met Office and Met Éireann, which have run the Name Our Storms scheme for four years. The names were chosen from submissions by the public to reflect the culture and diversity of the UK and Ireland.