Thursday 11/01/07

Thunder and hailshowers carry on through the night. The strong winds shift to the south of the UK, with winds of 50 mph up here. A brief powercut occurs at 10.30 am. Today is the 2nd anniversary of the deadly hurricane, which took 5 lives in the Uists. Both the local council and the Scottish Executive are accused of dragging their feet over the necessary maintenance work on the roads. My webcam has stopped working properly, as it no longer focuses. Severe squalls blow over the basin, carrying spray with it. The Harvest Caroline went out to Loch Erisort, 10 miles to the south, but quickly returned to Stornoway. Afternoon continues savage, with severe squalls continuing to blow spray over the basin. Go out to the Coastguard Station and try to take a few pics. The force 9 winds makes it difficult to walk. Head for Somerfields for papers. Get pelted with hailstones, which is painful on the very strong wind. Mrs B and myself are taken on a tour of the town and out to the Braighe. The weather caused much disruption and because the ferry was off all day, Calmac are running an extra sailing to Ullapool overnight. Trees and lorries get blown down. A comet is reportedly visible after sunset, but clouds shroud the horizon. Gusts here in Stornoway reach 75 mph at 4pm. In the evening, a cargoship carrying fertiliser loses power and drifts towards a gas platform 90 miles east off Hull. Winds of 55 knots lash the North Sea as the crew of the platform is evacuated. The engine of the stricken freighter is restarted in time to avert a disaster.