The storm has been raging through the British Isles.
Storm Ali has been hitting the British Isles from Ireland through to western Scotland, and on Tuesday night the storm claimed its first victim, reports CBS News.
The woman was asleep in her trailer in Galway County, Ireland, when it was hit by a gust of wind — which carried the trailer off the edge of the cliff that she was stopped on. Police arrived on the scene shortly afterward and searched the beach below the cliff. They then found the woman — which they described as in her 50s — but it was too late, only being able to recover her body.
Storm Ali is the first named storm of the season for the British Isles, and has hit almost all of Ireland and Northern Ireland, along with Western Scotland and parts of far northwestern Wales. The storm has left over 20,000 homes without power in Ireland, with more power disruptions happening sporadically in other areas affected by the storm.
Ferry services between the Welsh town of Holyhead and the Irish capital of Dublin were disrupted, with train services throughout Ireland and Scotland also facing delays. In Edinburgh — the capital of Scotland — a primary street leading up to Edinburgh Castle, Princes Street, was closed when high winds tore off the roof of a store.
With fall having not yet arrived, trees have not yet lost their foliage — which has increased the likelihood of those trees being toppled over by high winds. Wind speed for this weather pattern has been recorded as over 90mph in some locations. Fallen trees have caused extensive damage throughout the area, with several cars and buildings damaged thanks to trees falling on them, with many cars being completely crushed.
With the storm remaining in the area, more damage is expected — with the BBC reporting that the storm has now reached parts of Wales. That led to the Met Office, the U.K. equivalent of the U.S. National Weather Service, to issue what it calls a yellow warning — a warning that tells people to expect travel delays and disruption of daily activities. A yellow warning is the lowest level warning that the Met Office issues.
Officials in Wales preemptively closed down a number of roads in the country, particularly bridges with trailers, such as the one that fell off the cliff in Ireland.
Damage in Wales may not be as bad as what has been seen in Ireland and Scotland, but the country will still be affected by predictable property damage from fallen trees and other strewn debris.
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