Tuesday 10 January

A wet and breezy day, half an inch has fallen so far today according to local weather stations. And the rain continues to fall. It appears to be the prequel to a spell of colder weather, with wintry showers above 800 feet later this week.

The road appears to be the place not to be this week.

• An elderly man, seen walking along the road in Back (here in Lewis) was found dead only a few minutes later. His demise is thought to have been of natural causes.
  
• What happened to the 49-year old in South Uist, whose corpse was discovered along the main A865 road at Ardmore is not yet known. Just before 10 am, he was discovered along the side of the road a mile or so south of the causeway from Benbecula. As I type this (3.30pm) the road remains closed for police investigations. Northern Constabulary have appealed for information.
  
• Also closed was the C97 road in South Harris at the village of Geocrab. It appears that a crane has toppled over and is blocking the road. Diversions are in place - one look at the map shows it's a pretty lengthy one via the West Side of Harris and Leverburgh.