Shropshire Star

Woman dies after caravan blown off cliff as Storm Ali strikes with 92mph gusts

The caravan could be seen smashed to pieces on rocks and on the sand.

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Caravan crash

A woman has died after the caravan she was in was blown off a cliff in Storm Ali, which has brought gusts of more than 90mph.

The first named storm of the season brought high winds to the west of Ireland where the caravan was blown onto a beach at Claddaghduff, near Clifden in Co Galway, on Wednesday morning.

Irish police said the body of a woman in her fifties was found after a search on the beach.

The caravan could be seen smashed to pieces on rocks and on the sand.

Autumn weather Sep 19th 2018
The scene in Claddaghduff where a woman died after her caravan was blown off a cliff in Storm Ali (Niall Carson/PA)

In Scotland, the Forth Road Bridge, Clackmannanshire Bridge and Queensferry Crossing have put restrictions in place while the Tay Road Bridge is shut to all traffic having recorded winds of nearly 92mph.

Elsewhere, tug boats were called to the Nautica cruise ship which slipped its berth in Greenock.

Strong winds saw the vessel – which had 478 passengers and 26 crew – leave the dock after its mooring lines parted. There have been no reports of injuries.

A section of Princes Street in Edinburgh has been closed after parts of a shop roof flew off in strong winds.

Police Scotland was alerted to lead falling from the Topshop building at around 12.30pm on Wednesday.

(PA Graphics)
(PA Graphics)

The Met Office said gusts of 91mph hit Killowen in County Down, 77mph winds were recorded in Kirkcudbrightshire in Scotland, 74mph gusts hit Capel Curig in Wales and 68mph was recorded in St Bees Head, Cumbria.

Irish forecaster Met Eireann said the strongest gusts in the hour leading up to 10am reached speeds of 120km/h (74.5mph) at Mace Head in County Galway, 98km/h (60.9mph) at Dublin Airport and 107km/h (66.5mph) at Shannon.

Forecasters in Ireland issued a Status Orange wind warning for more than half the country due to the storm.

As Ali rolled in, the Met Office updated its amber weather warning of wind, saying there is a high likelihood of impacts across a swathe of the UK.

The weather alert, which is in place until Wednesday evening, warns that flying debris is likely and could lead to injuries or danger to life.

Storm Ali graphic
(PA Graphics)

A less severe yellow warning for wind is in place until Wednesday night.

ScotRail said it was dealing with “severe disruption” across all of Scotland and advised people not to travel.

Dublin Airport said it has had 42 cancellations and eight diversions.

Storm Ali
Efforts to move a fallen tree on Finglass Road by Glasnevin Cemetary, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

Photos posted on social media showed trees down in Galway while Dublin Fire Brigade posted about falling trees damaging cars, with one photo showing a smashed windscreen.

The worst of Ali’s weather was expected in the north, although areas outside the official weather warnings were unlikely to escape wet and windy conditions.

While southern parts of England and Wales could reach continued unseasonable highs of up to 24C (75F), it was expected to feel cooler due to the strong winds, Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said.

The unsettled weather is due to last right through the week but an improvement is expected early next week as drier weather is set to take hold.

Storm names
(PA Graphics)

Ali is first on the storm names list for 2018-19 announced by the Met Office and Met Eireann, which has run the Name Our Storms scheme for four years.

The season’s names have been compiled from a list of submissions by the public, choosing some of the most popular names and also selecting those which reflect the nations, culture and diversity of the UK and Ireland.

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