Storm Damage

The storm was everything XC Weather had promised, with Sue Cheadle reporting gusts of 103 mph at Sanna and Kilchoan Early Bird sending this picture of the sea this morning.   Here on the south side of the peninsula we had a wild night, with gale force winds, thunder and lightning around 10.15 last night, and the lights dimming several times during the electrical storm and again around three in the morning - yet, amazingly, the power was still on this morning when we woke. We were just thanking our lucky stars when, at nine, the power went - a transformer blew up near Caim - and it's been off until just now, a quarter to five.

The radio reported all trains in Scotland at a standstill, ferry services shut down, bus and coach services disrupted, and power out in 70,000 households - yet AJG carriers manage to be out here delivering supplies at 9.30 - picture shows driver John MacDonald whom we frequently see here, and who seemed totally unfazed by the devastation around him.

We took a walk through Kilchoan in the morning, finding very little damage - just a few rather shocked geese on the marsh at the back of Kilchoan Bay which seemed - understandably - very unwilling to take flight, and....

....the sad sight of two beautiful trees down in the garden of Maell mo Chridhe.  But elsewhere, things had been much more lively.

 This container at Achnaha had been blown on its side....

....some static caravans had had a bad time....

....and this small caravan, which we think may have been towed onto the peninsula by a visitor yesterday, had been blown off the road.

In amongst all this chaos what's so heartening is the cheerful way people cope with what was a frightening night.  And they're philosophical about the next few days - another gale tomorrow, and more rain, more wind, and temperatures predicted, by XC Weather at least, to fall during the following days, so we'll be seeing sleet and or snow as well.

Special thanks to Kilchoan Early Bird for pictures 1, 5, 6 and 7.