Bad news for anyone hoping to go for a refreshing, brisk walk this afternoon, you’re likely to be blown about all over the place.
The powerful 75mph winds that are currently battering the UK are all thanks to Storm Otto.
It’s been a rough start to the day up in Scotland, where National Rail have had a nightmare with trees being brought down on several routes, including the West Highland Line, Far North Line and Aberdeen – Inverness.
Scotland has felt the brunt of Otto, with the Met Office reporting that winds as high as 80mph were recorded across parts of northern Scotland, with winds of around 60-75mph elsewhere across the UK.
For those heading north from London, National Rail have also warned that trains between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh will move at reduced speeds because of the severe winds.
It’s not any safer out on the roads - parts of the A1M are closed north of Leeds due to overturned lorries, we’re not joking when we say these are some seriously powerful gusts of wind.
Yellow weather warnings for wind had been issued for the whole of Scotland and a stretch of north and north-east England, running from Sheffield to the Scottish border.
The detailed warning for Scotland said there could be “injuries and danger to life from flying debris” and “some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs”.
30,000 homes and businesses in the North of Scotland are without power as a result of Storm Otto and Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) have said that they helicopters are on standby to find out how bad the damage is once the winds die down.
The warning for Scotland runs from 3am to 3pm on Friday and the north-east England warning is from 5am to 2pm.
The Met Office chief meteorologist, Andy Page, said: “Storm Otto will bring high winds and rain to the UK, with some northern parts of Scotland and the north-east of England likely to get the strongest gusts of wind, possibly in excess of 75mph. Warnings have been issued and could be updated as Storm Otto develops.
“There’s a chance of travel disruption and high-sided vehicles could be particularly prone to disrupted plans in this set-up. There’s associated rain with Storm Otto, with 40-50mm of rain likely to fall over parts of western Scotland.”