Thursday 23 October

Very nasty day with heavy rain and force 7 winds. A bit of a write-off. Tomorrow should be better, with a repeat performance on Saturday. The status page for Caledonian MacBrayne (our ferry operator) is awash with orange and red, indicated disrupted or cancelled ferries. The MV Isle of Lewis, which links us to the mainland, will remain tied up all day.

Yesterday, a tornado came in off the Atlantic and struck a house in the village of Barvas, on Loch Street. According to a report on Hebrides News, damage was limited to trashed fence-posts, a trampoline blown out of the garden and a gas-bottle ripped away. It was terrifying enough for the occupants of the house, including a small child. Nobody was hurt, and there is no report of (severe) damage to the house. Tornadoes are rare in this part of the world, but this is the second one reported on Lewis this year. In the summer, on was spotted over the Barvas Moor, only a few miles from this latest twister.

A three-car pile-up on the A866 road through Point has left one man critically injured and several others as walking wounded. The exact circumstances are being investigated by Northern Constabulary. The accident occurred on an incline between Aignish and Seaview Knock, 4 miles east of Stornoway on the Point peninsula.

The disabled ship I reported on last night is shown safely in Broad Bay this morning (as seen on the ship positioning website AIS). Weather conditions are poor, as I mentioned above.