Ministers briefed on weather impacts

The public continue to be urged to check before they travel as Storm Conor sweeps across northern Scotland during Boxing Day. 

Transport Minister Humza Yousaf chaired a further meeting of the Scottish Government’s resilience team this morning (Monday). Representatives from the Met Office, Transport Scotland, Police Scotland, SEPA and key responders participated in the call.

Storm Conor brought strong winds, wintry conditions on higher ground and rain overnight early on Boxing Day. The most severe impacts have again been in the north – with the Northern Isles and north Highlands worst effected.

The Amber ‘be prepared’ warning issued by the Met Office on Friday, of wind for the Northern and Western Isles, the far north of the mainland and western coastal fringes of the country right down to the Clyde, is valid until 1800 on Monday. Transport operators are being urged to contact passengers to warn them in advance of any likely disruption.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings 

There are also a number of Yellow warnings in place for the rest of the country during Boxing Day, including snow for much of northern Scotland and parts of the Central belt until this afternoon

The weather conditions are expected to affect Ferry services during Boxing Day and cause difficult travelling conditions. However, Tuesday is expected to mark an improvement in the weather and a return to more moderate conditions.

Gritters are being deployed to provide precautionary salt treatments and to patrol and provide additional salt treatments where necessary on our trunk road network. Salt stocks are in plentiful supply.

There has been some disruption to power supplies with more expected as storm Conor reaches its peak this afternoon. Supplies are being restored quickly in affected areas and extra staff, equipment and welfare facilities are in place to support customers.

Speaking after chairing this morning’s meeting Mr Yousaf said:   

“The weather continues to present difficulties with Storm Conor passing over Scotland during Boxing Day.

“At this time of year many people will be travelling to spend time with friends and family so we would remind the public to check before they travel and delay their journey if necessary. Safety must be paramount and should always take priority, this is particularly the case in the north of Scotland and the Islands today.

“The new microsite on the TrafficScotland website which covers all modes of transport and I would urge people to check this and information from other providers. I know that many travel companies and operators have also been very proactive in terms of speaking to customers via phone, email, text and social media – this has been a crucial part of this year’s mainly successful contingency planning so far. 

“The Scottish Government’s Resilience operation is actively monitoring weather developments and receiving updates from the Met Office, SEPA and the utilities companies, as well as keeping in touch with emergency responders and councils at a local level in the areas likely to be affected by adverse weather.”

Background 

An audio clip from Transport Minister Humza Yousaf is attached. If you have trouble accessing it please contact 0300 244 4000.

The Scottish Government’s annual resilience marketing campaign, Ready Scotland, is a good reminder of the simple actions we can all take to prepare for adverse conditions.  Further information is available at www.readyscotland.org

For real time journey information visit www.trafficscotland.org, follow @trafficscotland on Twitter or call 0800 028 14 14.

The full Alerts, including the Chief Forecaster's Assessment and a map showing the areas included in the Alerts, are available at http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/warnings/ 

Rail, ferries and air users should check with individual service operators’ websites.

For more advice and guidance: www.floodlinescotland.org.uk or via Floodline 0345 988 1188.