Tuesday 29 January

Another day of high winds, but of a more severe category than yesterday. The morning started fairly calm, but winds soon picked up and increased to hurricane force at the Butt of Lewis. At time of posting, the highest sustained windspeed measured at the nearby village of Eoropie was 84.5 mph, that is about 136 kph. Bus services stopped earlier than usual, at 6pm. The ferry tried to make the crossing from Ullapool, but was met with mountainous seas when emerging out of Loch Broom. The captain decided that the comfort and safety of his passengers took precedence over derring-do, so he turned back. Passengers are spending the night on the boat, or ashore, as arranged by the ferry company. The ferry service to Harris and North Uist is all up the spout, with only a return trip to North Uist tomorrow. On the roads, the council have temporarily closed causeways in the Uist, and to Point. All closures appear to have been lifted by now. Meanwhile, the causative depression is heading away to the northern isles, to liven up the Up Helly Aa celebrations in Shetland tonight.