Storm Isha causes thousands in North West to be left without power 

Thousands of residents living in the North West were left without power after storm Isha hit the UK yesterday.

Gusts of wind of up to 90mph battered the country as Storm Isha brought disruption to electricity and transport networks.

As the storm was due to arrive the UK was given amber warnings of strong winds, and many were advised not to travel.

Electricity North West stood crews down due to the conditions as almost 8,000 homes lost power, it said.

The energy company said times expected for restoration of power had been pushed back until 5pm on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Network Rail imposed speed restrictions of 50mph in order to keep passengers safe and in case of falling trees.

In a statement it said: “It’s likely that travel disruption will continue into Monday morning as engineers finish the clean-up operation removing fallen trees and debris and running ‘ghost trains’ to ensure lines are clear before allowing passenger trains to restart.”

Several roads across the region have been closed after damage caused to power cables, road accidents and fallen trees.

The following closures are in place as motorists are advised to check before travelling:

• M6 Southbound in Cumbria closed due to recovery work and earlier overturned lorries from J39 B6261 (Shap) to J38 A685 (Tebay).
• Whiteleys Lane in both directions closed due to fallen power cables from A577 Wigan Road to School Lane.
• A50 Newcastle Road in both directions blocked due to a fallen tree near A534 Spark Lane (Arclid Traffic Lights).
• Grane Road Eastbound in Haslingden, Lancashire, blocked and there’s heavy traffic due to a fallen tree from Jackson Heights Road to B6235 Holcombe Road (Holden Arms).
• Whalley Road in Sabden, Lancashire blocked in both directions closed due to a fallen tree from Watt Street to The Whins.

Meanwhile, strong winds caused by the storm meant airline passengers saw diversions and severe delays as some flights were cancelled altogether.

Passengers remained on the runway after a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Dublin was forced to divert 500 miles away to Paris on Sunday, January 21st.

The flight was already delayed by an hour as it departed from Manchester Airport and was initially meant to land into Dublin at 3.30pm.

However, as winds picked up with gusts up to 90mph, the landing into Dublin was aborted after being deemed too dangerous and the flight circled over the Irish sea while a decision was made to divert and fly 500 miles to Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport, eventually landing just before 5.30pm.

National Air Traffic Services told the Press Association (PA): “Due to adverse weather conditions across the UK, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place. Restrictions of this sort are only ever applied to maintain safety.

“Our teams are working closely with airports and airlines to minimise disruption. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”

Elsewhere, Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria as agencies declared standby in case of a major emergency.

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