Storm “Isha” hits the United Kingdom and Ireland; 2 dead

AP

Two people died, tens of thousands were left without power and hundreds of train trips were canceled on Monday after the latest in a series of winter storms hit Britain and Ireland with heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 100 miles per hour.

Morning transportation was affected after trees fell on roads and railways due to the storm. On Sunday night, an 84-year-old passenger in a car in Scotland and a truck driver in Northern Ireland, both in their 60s, died when their vehicle collided with fallen trees.

The Met Office, Britain's weather service, issued an unusual public wind alert across the country ahead of the storm's arrival. dinnerIt reaches its peak at night with gusts reaching speeds of up to 145 km/h.

Authorities announced on social media that the Tay Road Bridge, which extends 2.2 kilometers over the mouth of the Tay River in Scotland, recorded winds of 172 kilometers per hour. For its part, the Presley Wood radar station, in northeastern England, recorded wind gusts reaching a speed of 159 kilometers per hour, according to the Meteorological Office.

Since the fall, Ireland and the UK have suffered a succession of storms with strong winds and rain that have downed trees, caused power outages and flooded river valleys. Isha is the ninth named storm since September and the 10th storm, named Jocelyn by Irish forecaster Met Eireann, threatens with more wind and rain on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Scotland Rail has suspended train services on Sunday evening until rush hour on Monday. Network Rail, which owns rail infrastructure in England, Scotland and Wales, has set speed limits on most tracks to prevent locomotives hitting fallen trees and other debris, causing delays.

Many major roads in Scotland and northern England were closed due to wind, fallen trees or overturned trucks. Davie Peake, Chief Constable of Northern Ireland Police, said many roads in the area remained impassable on Monday morning.

In Northern Ireland's County Antrim, three trees were felled on the Dark Hedges Road, a road lined with majestic beech trees that became a popular tourist destination after appearing as the Kingsroad in the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”

It is noteworthy that the trees are about 250 years old, and that they are approaching the end of their life. Many of them were destroyed by other storms.

“This is another blow to the Dark Hedges,” said Mervyn Storey, chair of the Dark Hedges Conservation Trust. “In fact, one of the trees that was healthy was cut down. It's very sad.”

In North Yorkshire, northern England, firefighters rescued several people trapped in flooded vehicles.

“It was definitely a terrifying experience at the time,” Charlie Carey told ITV News after his rescue at Morton-on-Swale.

Flights to several airports were diverted, including a flight from the Canary Islands to Dublin that ended in Bordeaux, France.

Power was restored on Monday. At one point, about 230,000 homes and businesses were without power in Ireland, and 40,000 homes were without power in neighboring Northern Ireland.