Contact newsdesk on:  info@hebridesnews.co.uk

Classified adverts   I   Jobs                               

 Local Services     

 

Hebrides News

Hardly a street or village in the Western Isles escaped damage as the violent storm left a scene of devastation in its wake.

 

Gusts of 113mph at low level ground were recorded at Stornoway airport, said to be the highest for the recording station since records began in 1970s.

 

Thousands of homes had slates whipped off in violent gusts, often hammering into nearby parked cars.

 

Sheds were blown away, caravans and chalets flipped over, garage roofs torn off and windows smashed in.

 

Gates were snapped off their hinges, glass and metal panels tossed about, and fencing flattened.

 

Western Isles Council faces repair bills of ten of thousands of pounds with many buildings damaged. Former schools in Point and Carloway were amongst some which suffered extensive damage.

 

Large plate glass windows in shops in Stornoway town centre were smashed and high roofs were badly damaged.

 

Fallen trees blocked main roads into Stornoway.

 

A roof torn off an industrial building crashed into the top of TV studios in Seaforth Road, Stornoway, at the height of the storm.

 

It punched dents into the metal sheeting. Debris smashed through velux windows onto desks below.

 

Numerous vehicles along the residential street were bashed and dented by flying slates and pieces of wood.

 

 

 

113mph winds in violent storm  

9 January 2015