AN OIL platform was evacuated, ski centres closed, ferries cancelled and mountaineers rescued as storm-force winds and snow battered the Highlands yesterday.
And forecasters warned last night that more extreme conditions are on their way, with gales and blizzards expected to sweep the region today. A climber who suffered only a broken arm when he tumbled 1,000ft in Glencoe was one of four people to escape serious injury in three incidents in the hills.
The high winds also forced the closure of all of the Highlands’ snowsports resorts.
A lorry jackknifed on the snow-covered A9 Inverness-Perth road yesterday afternoon, blocking the route near Newtonmore.
Traffic was diverted on to the old A9 until the truck was recovered.
The Met Office issued a yellow “be aware” weather warning for the Highlands and islands for today.
Forecaster Dave Clark said snow would hit Argyll and head north to Lochaber and across to Drumochter, while the Northern and Western Isles face a treacherous combination of raging winds and high seas.
He said last night: “The winds in the Northern Isles are going to be severe gale force at best. It’s going to be absolutely bitter up there, down to about 1C in the air, but the roads will be below that. There are really big seas – a 30ft sea to Shetland and 26ft going into Orkney – and with the wind coming from the south-east, there is the chance of disruption to the Churchill Barriers.
“The winds are quite strong just offshore towards the Western Isles. I think they are going to cause some problems for transport there on Monday as well.”
Mr Clark said winds could reach 85mph off exposed parts of the Western Isles and up to 75mph in Assynt, where they would cause blizzard conditions on higher ground.
Yesterday, high winds and stormy seas led to a string of ferry cancellations.
CalMac cancelled sailings between Uig, Lochmaddy and Tarbert and the Mallaig-Armadale service because of “adverse weather”.
The Oban-Castlebay and Lochboisdale service did not sail due to south-westerly winds gusting up to 60 knots and today’s ferry from Mallaig to the Small Isles was cancelled due to high forecast winds and excessive swells.
NorthLink Ferries called off sailings between Aberdeen, Kirkwall and Lerwick, while Pentland Ferries cancelled services between Orkney and the mainland due to the weather and tide conditions.
Shetland’s inter-island ferries were tied up as south-easterly gales increased to storm force on Sunday afternoon.
The Bluemull Sound ferry was the first council-run service to give up fighting through mountainous seas.
Shetland Islands Council said the service between Yell, Unst and Fetlar had been suspended at 1.30pm. This was followed by suspension of the Yell Sound service at 2.30pm and finally the Whalsay service at 2.45pm.
A spokesman for CalMac said: “High winds gusting to more than 50mph have caused delays and cancellations across our network.
“We are grateful for the patience and understanding of our customers, who recognise that their safety must be our number one priority.”