Storm Isha is causing travel disruptions in the UK and Ireland, with airlines canceling flights and rail operators halting services. The Met Office has issued a blanket wind warning for the UK, with gusts reaching 90mph and the potential for danger to life.
The Met Office issued an unusual blanket wind warning for all of the UK, saying gusts could reach 90 miles per hour (145 kilometers per hour) in places and threaten lives.
“There’s the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down,” meteorologist Tom Morgan said, AP reported.
Parts of the UK have been hammered since fall by a series of gusty and wet storms that have toppled trees, knocked out power, and led to flooding along river valleys. Isha is the ninth named storm since September.
Airlines canceled 102 flights in and out of Dublin airport on Sunday due to a storm that was forecast to rage for the rest of the day, the airport operator said.
Storm Isha had also forced 24 aborted landings by 1700 GMT, while 27 flights opted to divert to other airports, Dublin Airport said in a post on social media platform X.
Dublin Airport said in a post on social media platform X: “Our advice to passengers flying out of @DublinAirport on Monday remains to arrive at their terminal two hours before a short-haul flight and three hours before a long-haul flight.”
“Passengers seeking to re-book cancelled flights are encouraged to do this online to avoid unnecessary queuing at airline desks in the terminals at @DublinAirport which will be extra busy,” tweeted Dublin Airport.
Ireland’s national meteorological service Met Eireann issued an orange weather warning early on Sunday for most of the country, including Dublin, meaning the winds could significantly impact people, property, and activity in an area.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport canceled 130 flights scheduled for Monday as a preventive measure because of strong winds expected when Storm Isha reaches the Netherlands, the airport said on Sunday.
The railway operator for Scotland halted train service Sunday night and into Monday’s rush hour. Network Rail, which owns the railway infrastructure in England, Scotland, and Wales, said it was placing speed limits on most lines to prevent engines from running into fallen trees and other debris, and trains would be affected in the morning commute.
