The impact of Storm Corrie is “likely to be significant”, Scotland’s Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister's warning came as parts of the UK braced for the pending storm and its strengthening winds that could bring gusts of up to 90mph to parts of Scotland and the north of England on Sunday night.
Of the 98,000 households that lost power as a result of Storm Malik, all but 7,500 are expected to be reconnected by Sunday night after additional engineers were drafted in.
However, for the remainder – mainly in Aberdeenshire – disruption could last until Tuesday.
A nine-year-old boy in Staffordshire and a 60-year-old woman in Aberdeen died after trees were torn down in dangerous gusts on Saturday.
READ MORE: SSEN declares 'red alert' as thousands without power
Ms Sturgeon, who had just chaired a resilience meeting on weather, tweeted on Sunday: “There are amber/yellow @metoffice warnings in place for all of Scotland as Storm Corrie sets in – please heed the warnings and take care. Impacts from the storm are likely to be significant tonight & into tomorrow.
“Work to repair the damage from Storm Malik continues. Tens of thousands have had power reconnected already – however, many will remain off supply again tonight and some, especially in north east, could be off into Tuesday. Welfare arrangements are in place.”
1/ Just chaired another @scotgov resilience meeting on weather. There are amber/yellow @metoffice warnings in place for all of Scotland as Storm #Corrie sets in - please heed the warnings and take care. Impacts from the storm are likely to be significant tonight & into tomorrow
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 30, 2022
The Met Office, which warned that “damaging gusts of wind are possible later today and overnight into Monday morning”, said Storm Corrie is set to bring gusts of up to 90mph in exposed coastal locations in northern Scotland, and 70-80mph gusts in the north.
It is set to move eastwards across Scotland on Sunday and push across the North Sea in the early hours of Monday.
Amber and yellow weather warnings for wind across northern parts of Scotland from Sunday into Monday morning are in force.
They state that “flying debris is likely and could lead to injuries or danger to life”, while there may be some damage to trees and buildings, which could include tiles that have blown from roofs.
Ice warnings were also issued by the Met Office covering Grampian, Highlands and Eilean Siar, Strathclyde and Fife on Monday as wintry showers and falling temperatures after Storm Corrie may turn untreated surfaces icy.
It said: “In the wake of Storm Corrie, falling temperatures may allow a brief period of snow in a few areas, mainly on hills.
(PA Graphics)
“Later in the night, clearer skies and wintry showers are expected, these most frequent for northwest and north Scotland, few and far between in eastern areas.
“These are likely to lead to ice forming on untreated surfaces, while strong northwesterly winds may lead to temporary blizzard conditions over high ground, with 1-2 cm of snow above 200m elevation and perhaps a few cm on the highest routes.”
Amber weather warnings are in place across Scotland
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “Storm Malik caused significant damage on Saturday and Storm Corrie threatens to be similarly disruptive tonight. I urge everyone to heed the warnings, don’t travel unless you have to and stay safe. Remember, a Yellow warning does mean there are likely to be dangers.
“The power companies have drafted in a large number of additional engineers and are making significant inroads into reconnecting customers. However, we need to be aware that the arrival of Storm Corrie could hamper these efforts and add further problems.
“For those who will unfortunately not have power tonight, support with alternative accommodation is available to anyone who needs it. Special arrangements remain in place for vulnerable customers and local resilience partnerships continue to work with councils to provide welfare support."
Earlier, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said Storm Malik caused “significant damage” to its network and had left around 18,000 customers without supply as of 11am on Sunday.
READ MORE: ScotRail cancel all Sunday evening services as Storm Corrie looms
SSEN warned the double blow of storms Malik and Corrie could mean that some customers, particularly those in rural Aberdeenshire, may have to wait until early next week before supply problems are fixed.
ScotRail said all of its services are going to be withdrawn from Sunday at 6pm due to “very strong winds” in an effort to “protect passengers and railway staff, domestic ScotRail services”.
Network Rail Scotland, which said that “all parts of the railway are working together”, added that any other trains which are running on Sunday night will be limited to a maximum speed of 40mph and operators are looking at how this will hit journeys.
Mr Swinney added: “Rail services have been significantly impacted this weekend and will halt overnight. Whilst our expectation is that services will resume as soon as possible on Monday, people should check the ScotRail and Traffic Scotland channels for travel updates before leaving home.
“Safety is our number one priority. Ministers are being kept updated and will take further action as necessary. In the meantime I thank all those who are working in difficult conditions to keep people safe and maintain our lifeline services.”
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