Storm Isha caused chaos across the UK with thousands of people left without power and transport links disrupted.
The storm battered the UK with heavy rain and gusts of up to 99mph with the entire country subject to wind warnings issued by the Met Office.
Air traffic control restrictions are in place, leading to flight cancellations and causing many planes to divert, with customers reporting hair-rising attempts to land planes in appalling weather conditions.
Spare a thought for the passengers on this #Ryanair flight from Manchester to Dublin.????
Took off at 5.30pm > circled near Dublin > diverted to Belfast > missed approach at international airport > now heading back to Manchester after spending 3hrs in the air.#StormIsha #RYR6333 pic.twitter.com/mrgYcy5rP4
— Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) January 21, 2024
Rail passengers have been told not to travel north of Newcastle while high winds forced the closure of the Tay Road Bridge, M48 Severn Bridge and the A66 in Durham and Cumbria between the A1(M) and the M6.
Nats, the UK’s air traffic control company, said that more than 100 flights had to abandon efforts to land yesterday amid the high winds.
“Yesterday there were more than 100 go-arounds at airports across the country and we still don’t have a total on the number of diversions,” said Steve Fox, Nats’ head of network operations.
In Northern Ireland, around 45,000 customers were left without power, while Electricity North West said thousands of properties in north-west England had lost their supply.
Another storm is also moving in, Storm Jocelyn, which is forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to Britain on Tuesday and into Wednesday.
#StormJocelyn has been named by @MetEireann and is forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the UK on Tuesday and into Wednesday #weatheraware ???? pic.twitter.com/DihJvBBCUg
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 22, 2024
But, in among the turmoil, the stock market appears to have taken the storm in its stride with insurers, travel operators and insurers mostly higher.