Storms cause chaos across country as city escapes worst

Drivers on the M8 travelling to work were slowed down by torrential rain and high winds and there were further delays following an accident involving two cars at junction 19 near Anderston Cross.

The central belt has largely escaped the worst of the bad weather, but forecasters are warning of more heavy rain to come next week, which will affect the Glasgow area.

Hundreds of homes have been flooded with the north of England worst affected.

Glasgow was fortunate to avoid the worst of the weather with forecasters predicting the city, where about 8mm of rain was expected today, will continue to fare better than elsewhere.

Earlier Aberdeenshire, Fife and Tayside were not so lucky. Aberdeen City Council said it had received dozens of calls about fallen trees which blocked city centre roads, including Union Terrace.

Drivers were also warned to take extra care on the Esplanade after sand and water was blown on to the road.

In Dundee, a driver suffered minor injuries after a tree came down and hit a car in Arbroath Road.

Edinburgh Council said Portobello High School closed early due to weather damage, while St Andrew's Primary in Midlothian shut after a power cut.

Heavy rain and severe winds caused power cuts and travel problems, while about 2000 households were without power after gusts of up to 70mph.

Ferry services, including CalMac sailings on the west coast, were considerably disrupted and transport minister Keith Brown chaired a meeting of the Scottish Government's Resilience Room, where he was updated on the impact of the wind and rain around the key areas of transport and utilities and was told about the flooding. Some areas recorded around 40mm of rain in 36 hours.

More than 300 homes were flooded across the UK, while part of the A1 was closed in North Yorkshire and the East Coast mainline was hit.

About 80 areas in England and Wales were warned to expect flooding, with northern England worst affected.

ewan.fergus@ heraldandtimes.co.uk