IT brought power cuts to more than 80,000 homes, flying debris and travel chaos on land and sea across Scotland.

Storm Ali caused havoc to rail, roads and ferry services as the nation was battered by hurricane force winds of up to 102 mph.

But weather forecasters say Scotland which had "danger to life" warnings over Storm Ali, will miss the worst of further weather turmoil on Thursday.

The Herald:

The Met Office still have 'danger to life' yellow warnings over strong winds and rain for much of England and Wales, but they stop short of the Scottish border. Most of Scotland will be "less windy".

A Scots university football team had a lucky escape after a falling tree crushed their team bus as Storm Ali caused mayhem across Scotland.

The University of Dundee squad were travelling to St Andrews for a match when the tree toppled and crushed their coach wiping out the front windows.

The Herald:

It is understood one player was injured in the crash, which happened near Kincaple, but that his condition is not serious.

It came hours after a falling tree killed a man in Northern Ireland, one of two reported fatalities as a result of Storm Ali. The man, in his 20s, was killed and another in his 40s was injured at the gates of Slieve Gullion Forest Park, near Newry, County Armagh

A Swiss tourist died in a freak accident in the Irish Republic on Wednesday morning when the caravan she was sleeping in was blown off a cliff.

The woman, named locally as Elvira Ferrai was in her 50s and had been staying in a rented caravan at Clifden Eco Beach Camping and Caravan Park in Claddaghduff.

In the Sutherland village of Rogart, a man was taken to hospital with a suspected fractured rib being thrown from a digger and falling down a ravine.

The man was winched to hospital and taken to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Network and SP Energy Networks reported 80,900 had been hit by power cuts since 10am.

Around 25,000 remained remained without a supply on Wednesday evening with the south west of Scotland said to be the worst hit.

Simon McMillan of SP Energy Networks said they had experienced "considerable damage" to the network with the biggest issue coming from uprooted trees and other debris blown on to overhead power lines.

He said: "Working conditions have been very difficult across the day due to high wind speeds and strong gusts and our engineers are having to contend with fallen trees and blocked roads to reach faults.

“We have made good progress and engineers will continue to work hard across the country in challenging conditions”.

Trains between England and Scotland stopped running from 2pm because of damage to overhead electric wires on the East Coast mainline and the West Coast mainline and were not expected to be up and running till 7am on Thursday.

The Herald:

National Rail said that buses were unavailable to help with the West Coast mainline issues and urged people not to travel on either routes.

High winds resulted in fallen trees and speed restrictions throughout the day, affecting Caledonian Sleeper, TransPennine Express and Virgin Trains services.

Most trains from Glasgow and Edinburgh were suspended due to the weather, while other services throughout the country have also been affected.

A freight train was derailed on the Highland Main Line after striking fallen branches in the early hours of the morning near Culloden. It caused disruption to rail services between Inverness and Aviemore.

The Herald: Alex Hynes could not give a firm date for the new high-speed trains. Photograph: PA

Scotrail's managing director Alex Hynes said a 'minority' of trains were running across Scotland because the storm conditions had made the lines unsafe.

"Storm Ali has blocked many lines and routes but we are working as fast as we can to reinstate rail services across the country," he said.

Falling tree debris cause havoc in Glasgow where a cyclist was taken to hospital after he was struck by a branch in the east end. Trees fell onto Shakespeare Street and Kelvin Way closing the roads.

Five hundred cruise passengers and crew were stranded in Greenock after their ship slipped its moorings. Tug boats were alerted to help the Nautica berth. Oceania Cruises said all guests and crew are safe and tugs have been called in to assist.

The Herald:

In Dumfries and Galloway a "major incident" was declared, as a number of people had been hurt by flying debris.

Children were told not to walk home from school until the weather subsides.

Shakespeare Street and English Street in Dumfries were closed off due to objects flying off the roofs.

Glasgow Airport said the storm led to more than 40 cancellations - with some planes forced to return to their departure airport because they were unable to land. Edinburgh Airport also reported a number of cancellations and delays.

Some bus services were suspended, along with the tramline in Edinburgh, due to the weather, while hundreds were spotted queuing at Glasgow's Buchanan Street as commuters struggled to find transport.

Tay Road Bridge, where a 102mph gust was recorded, was shut to all traffic. All vehicles and pedestrians were also stopped from using the Forth Road Bridge, while the Queensferry Crossing and Clackmannanshire Bridge was shut to high-sided vehicles.

A section of Princes Street and South Bridge Street in Edinburgh was closed due to debris falling from roofs in strong winds P&O and Stena Line suspended all morning sailings out of Cairnryan, while CalMac cancelled a number of sailings in the Western Isles..

Coastguard rescue teams from Largs and Ardrossan were alerted after several yachts had broken free from their moorings off Fairlie, Ayrshire and had run aground, although nobody was hurt.

The Herald:

At Ardrossan, where waves breached the harbour wall, the local coastguard team urged people to "avoid putting themselves at risk and to remember that a photo or video clip is not worth risking your life for".

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued red alert warnings for coastal flooding on Wednesday afternoon in Tayside, Ayrshire and Arran and Easter Ross and Great Glen. Further less severe amber flood alerts were in place for west central Scotland, Argyll and Bute, Dumfries and Galloway, Findhorn, Nairn, Moray, and Speyside.

SEPA said a combination of strong winds and large waves meant there was a risk of flooding in low-lying areas.

The Herald:

Meanwhile, Scotland's environment agency had to close its Aberdeen office due to storm damage and said: "Safety and wellbeing of our people is our number one concern.