Storm Isha live: 90mph winds batter the UK as thousands are left without power

Repair teams are responding to reports of a tree which has fallen on overhead wires on a train track in Gartcosh, Cumbernauld.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, Network Rail thanked the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for extinguishing a small fire that broke out after the tree collided with the wires.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “On arrival at Gartcosh, we discovered this huge tree. It caused a small fire and has significantly damaged our overhead line equipment and fence.

“Many thanks to @fire_scot for their attendance! We’re working on a repair plan, but work won’t begin until winds ease.”

“A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: “We initially received the call at 6.38pm to reports of a tree fallen on the overhead lines.

“Two pumps were in attendance. The fire has been extinguished and we are no longer there.”

Flight schedules have been severely disrupted at several of London’s airports. At London Heathrow, British Airways has grounded a further 28 departures and arrivals on top of 36 previously notified. They include two round-trips linking Heathrow with both Geneva and Jersey.

Loganair has cancelled Heathrow links with City of Derry, Dundee and the Isle of Man while one transatlantic flight to Heathrow has so far been cancelled: Air Canada from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Very few aircraft have been able to land at London City airport on Sunday evening with 24 inbound flights cancelled, with five others diverted to Stansted and one to Gatwick. Operations at the Docklands airport are likely to be severely disrupted on Monday morning.

London Gatwick, which has the busiest runway in the world, has seen 14 cancellations on easyJet, including to Berlin, Bordeaux and Milan. Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair cancelled their links from Dublin due to severe disruption at the Irish capital.

London Stansted has been extremely busy with diversions from Heathrow and London City. Ryanair cancelled its afternoon and evening links with Dublin, as well as a round-trip to Cork. Two Turkish inbound flights – SunExpress from Izmir and Pegasus were cancelled, along with an easyJet arrival from Glasgow.

Luton airport saw little disruption besides one Wizz Air diversion, from Kaunus in Lithuania to Birmingham, and some moderate delays.

Storm Isha is the ninth named storm to hit the UK since the season began in September.

Each storm is named when it poses a risk to people and they are given names beginning with consecutive letters of the alphabet.

The record number of named storms in one year is when the Met Office began the practice in 2015/16, with Storm Katie being the 11th and final storm of the season.

If there are three more named storms between next week and August, this year will mark a new record.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has issued 19 flood warnings across various parts of Scotland.

The agency has issued 17 flood alerts in other parts of Scotland, which are less severe than flood warnings.

Janine Hensman, flood duty manager for Sepa, said: “Stay up to date with local warnings in force now for your area.

“Our three-day Scottish Flood Forecast shows the conditions that are expected further ahead. Follow Met Office updates for weather impacts.

“The strong winds combined with high tides and large waves may also result in wave overtopping and flooding of causeways, promenades, properties and roads along the southern and western coasts. Take care on exposed coasts.

“We have issued regional flood alerts and flood warnings as our rivers respond to the heavy rain and snow earlier in the week. We continue to work with the Met Office to monitor the situation 24/7.”

Phil Campbell, ScotRail customer operations director, said: “The heavy wind and ongoing rain hitting most parts of the country mean that it will not be safe for our customers and our staff, and all ScotRail train services will be suspended from 19.00 tonight.

“We know the impact that the withdrawal of train services will have on customers, but our first priority is always to ensure the safety of staff and passengers – and this is a necessary step to ensure everyone’s safety during the severe weather.

“Our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland will be working flat out through the night and into the morning to carry out safety checks, and assess what repairs are required to reopen the railway.

“However, customers will be unable to travel early Monday morning, as trains will not be able to operate until the infrastructure has been made safe.

“We will update our website, mobile app, and social media feeds when we have more information, and customers should check for the latest updates before they attempt to travel tomorrow.”

Thousands of homes were left without power and airport activity was disrupted on Sunday as Storm Isha swept “destructive” winds across the island of Ireland.

People were urged to heed wind warnings and told not to make unnecessary journeys as the most severe wind warnings kicked in on Sunday evening.

Paul Rock, who chaired a meeting of the National Emergency Co-ordination on Sunday morning, said it is a “particularly nasty” storm in an “unusual” storm season.

“We don’t want anyone dying as a result of this storm,” he told RTE Radio.

Scotland’s railway operator has said that all of its services will cease early on Sunday due to the effects of Storm Isha.

ScotRail has said there will also be no Monday morning rush-hour services, with an amber weather warning for wind set to come into force on Sunday at 6pm.

Network Rail says it has “taken the decision to close the network to all freight and passenger trains from 22:00 tonight until Monday morning”, and services will begin being withdrawn at 7pm.

The warning was previously scheduled to come into effect at 9pm, but has been pushed forward by the Met Office as the weather worsens.

An amber weather warning for wind is now in force across the majority of the UK, with gusts expected to reach up to 90mph.

The Met Office warned there is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

Damage to buildings could also occur as well as injuries and danger to life from large waves in coastal areas.