A woman has died after the caravan she was in was blown off a cliff in Storm Ali.

The victim was reportedly sleeping when strong winds lifted the caravan from the ground.

The first named storm of the season brought high winds to the west of Ireland where the caravan was blown onto a beach at Claddaghduff, near Clifden in Co Galway, on Wednesday morning.

Police confirmed the body of a woman in her fifties had been found.

Irish forecaster Met Eireann said the strongest gusts in the hour leading up to 10am reached speeds of 74.5mph at Mace Head in County Galway.

Photos posted on social media showed trees down in Galway, while Dublin Fire Brigade posted about falling trees damaging cars, with one photo showing a smashed windscreen.

READ MORE: Scotland braced as Storm Ali roars in 

The Herald:

Strong winds damaged trees and cars in the Republic of Ireland

As Ali rolled in on Wednesday morning The Met Office has already updated its amber weather warning of wind, saying there is now a high likelihood of impacts across a swathe of the UK.

Rail, roads and ferry services have all been affected by the severe weather conditions, while Edinburgh and Stirling Castles have been shut to visitors. 

Gusts of 77mph winds were recorded in Kirkcudbrightshire as the "danger to life" warning came into effect throughout central and southern Scotland, Strathclyde, Tayside and Fife.

The rest of the country is covered by a yellow alert.

The Mat Office said flying debris is likely and could lead to injuries or danger to life, while there will probably be some damage to buildings.

Travel is likely to be disrupted while there may also be power cuts.

Dundrennan, Dumfries and Galloway, have had gusts reaching 77 mph.
All vehicles and pedestrians have been stopped from using the Forth

Road Bridge, while the Queensferry Crossing has been shut to high-sided vehicles and double-decker buses.

Restrictions were also put in place on the Skye Bridge due to strong gales.

At around 10am part of the A75 in Dumfries and Galloway, near the Collin bypass, was blocked for about an hour due to a fallen tree.
Dumfries and Galloway Virtual Operations Support Team (VOST) reported similar incidents had occurred across the region.

The Highland main line was shut by rail operators after a freight train was derailed during high winds.

At around 1.40am a northbound service struck tree branches and left the track near Culloden.

No trains are running between Inverness and Perth but ScotRail said they expect the line to reopen in the early afternoon.

A spokesman said: "Specialist engineers and lifting equipment are on their way to the site and we will re-rail the engine and reopen the line as soon as possible."

Some bus services have also been suspended due to the weather.

The amber warning is in force between 8am and 6pm on Wednesday, with winds expected to ease from the west through the afternoon.

The whole of Scotland is covered by the yellow warning from 6am until 10pm on Wednesday, which warns that a spell of very windy weather will sweep the country with gusts of 50-60 mph possible inland.