Gale-force winds create havoc in Scotland, prompting scores of calls to emergency services

December 1, 2011 – IRELAND – Severe gale force winds caused damage and disruption to national and local ferry services and flights today – and destroyed a caravan in the Skerries. Shetland experienced the highest winds in the UK, with 81mph gusts recorded in Foula, 73mph in Lerwick and 69mph in Fair Isle. NorthLink’s sailings were delayed or cancelled and there were no inter-island ferries on some routes. There were no ferries on Bressay or Bluemull Sounds or to Whalsay in the morning, and the Yell Sound service was down to a single ferry. Normal service resumed on these routes in the afternoon, although the Skerries service was off all day. The reduction followed the strike yesterday when there were no ferries at all. Flights to and from Sumburgh were also disrupted, with the early morning flight from Aberdeen and the 12.15pm departure to the city both cancelled. No activity took place at all at Scatsta airport as the wind speed and sea state were out with operating limits. All 18 daily helicopter flights were cancelled and there were no fixed wing flights either. The wind prompted many calls to the emergency services, with Lerwick police dealing with 52 in 48 hours. They were called to clear debris from near the Queen’s Hotel early this morning, and the fire service was called out twice. They secured unsafe windows and masonry at the former Judane knitwear factory in the town, where firefighters tied a rope round the central pillar of a window and secured it to a pillar inside the building to made the area safe. Earlier they were called to a house in Lerwick’s Arheim where a trampoline was in danger of blowing away. The owners could not hold it down and firefighters dismantled it. He said his brother had gone outside to check on the caravan and it was “completely gone, blown over and absolutely nothing left”. Christopher bought the caravan a few years ago with the intention of doing it up. The gales yesterday morning put a permanent end to that aspiration. –Shetland Times 

California: The powerful Santa Ana winds sweeping through Southern California are knocking out power across the region. Power company officials say 75,000 customers in the Los Angeles area were without power after the winds downed trees and power lines. Department of Water and Power spokeswoman Maychelle Yee tells City News Service that power was out to 50,000 of its customers. Southern California Edison spokeswoman Vanessa Mcgrady says 25,500 customers were also without power. The National Weather Service says the winds have been gusting at 80 mph. Crews were working through the night to restore power. –SF Gate

More reports of abnormal wind gusts reported across the globe