Homes flooded and travel disrupted by Storm Gerrit

Homes have been flooded and travel disrupted as Storm Gerrit brought snow, high winds and heavy rain to much of Scotland.

Highland Council said a “major incident” was declared on A9 after miles of vehicles were stuck in the snow between Drumochter and Dalwhinnie.

ScotRail said there was “widespread disruption” to services, with no trains running north of Dundee or Perth for the rest of the day.

In Fife, residents in Cupar were rescued from their homes after severe flooding in the town.

Specialist boats were brought in from Perth and Stirling to help with rescue efforts in the Burnside area.

BEAR Scotland said teams were working across the country to remove fallen trees and debris from a number of roads.

The roads maintenance operator cautioned that people should “consider if they really need to travel today”.

Six gritters were dispatched to A9 at Drumochter where drivers were trapped in heavy snow.

Highland Council said conditions were “very severe” and partner agencies were providing assistance to those trapped, prioritising most vulnerable.

Police Scotland urged drivers to slow down and “drive to the weather conditions”.

Richard Nasmyth was travelling home to Bristol with his wife and daughter when the weather worsened, leaving them trapped on the A9 for more than six hours.

He said: “When we set off from Loch Laggan, it was just raining and the snow was actually melting away, it was looking all right.

“The skies opened and within minutes it was a complete whiteout, the traffic had come to an absolute halt and we were going nowhere.”

Claire Shaw and her children were heading back to Edinburgh from Nairn but had to find a hotel due to the conditions.

Claire said: “You could see the lorries in front of us physically shaking. The winds were really bad, the rain was horrendous.

“Luckily we made lots of snacks for the kids so that was probably a good call in hindsight. “

Fallen trees and floods led to road closures on the A82 near Fort William, at Invergarry and in West Dunbartonshire, and the A85 at Bridge of Awe.

The A90 was closed in both directions between Forfar and Dundee near Gateside. Earlier traffic police attended a crash on a different stretch of the road, near the village of Inchture.

The A96 was closed at Inverurie and at Huntly due to flooding.

The Forth Road Bridge and the A9 at Dornoch Bridge were closed to high-sided vehicles due to high winds.

British Transport Police said its officers and the fire brigade were called out after reports that a train had struck a tree near Broughty Ferry station at about 13:50.

The pasengers on board were evacuated safely and there were no reports of any injuries.

ScotRail said there was “major disruption” on much of the network and it had lifted all ticket restrictions.

It said tickets would remain valid on Thursday for passengers who wished to postpone their journey.

Affected services included trains from Glasgow to Stranraer, Edinburgh Waverley and Gretna.

Trains from Inverness to Aberdeen, Perth and Wick were also impacted.

Network Rail said crews had removed a fallen tree on the line at Dumbarton, but the line remained blocked by flooding at Bowling.

ScotRail customer operation director, Phil Campbell, said: “We will be working closely with our colleagues at Network Rail Scotland to ensure we are able to keep people moving as much as possible.

“But customers should also expect that their journeys will take longer than usual and there could be some cancellations. “

CalMac said there would be disruption to a number of ferry services throughout the day.

All ferries from Mallaig to Armadale and the Small Isles have been cancelled due to “adverse conditions”.

The operator said the latest information on delays and disruption to other routes was available on the CalMac website.

NorthLink services across the Pentland Firth to Orkney were also cancelled.

Loganair said a number of flights from Scotland’s islands had been affected.

The 08:40 Shetland to Aberdeen service is understood to have landed at Glasgow after being diverted via Inverness.

A Loganair spokesperson said: “We are actively doing all we can to ensure those customers on affected flights are rebooked onto alternative flights. We thank our customers for their patience and understanding.”

The yellow weather warning covers almost all of Scotland and other parts of the UK.

Scotland has experienced heavy rain and blizzard conditions, with wind speeds reaching 86mph at Inverbervie in Aberdeenshire.

Stein Connelly from Transport Scotland said: “This type of weather isn’t unusual for this time of year.

“But yellow warnings do mean the potential for significant travel disruption and that’s what we’re seeing across the road and rail network with ferry services also impacted.

“Our operating companies are working hard in adverse conditions to remove fallen trees and clear roads of snow.”

The Met Office said 20 to 45mm of rain was expected in 24 hours.