Trees tumble in high winds

Trees tumble in high winds

4 January 2012

GALE force winds which battered Down District during the early hours of Tuesday morning brought down a number of trees.

Power lines and telephone cables were also damaged during the storm while the Strangford ferry service was suspended for several hours yesterday morning due to high winds.

The Saul Road in Downpatrick was closed for a time after a tree was felled by high winds and it took Roads Service staff several hours to remove it.

The tree was so big that roads officials had to use chain saws and a mechanical digger to remove it.

The Scaddy Road outside Downpatrick was also closed when gale force winds sent a large tree crashing to the ground, taking with it power cables and telephone lines.

The Raffrey Road outside Darragh Cross was passable with care after a tree was blown over. Roads officials were able to remove most of the tree, but one side of the road remained blocked yesterday afternoon.

And a tree was also felled by gale force winds at the Comber Road just outside Ballygowan.

The Met Office said the winds were at their heaviest between 5am and 7am on Tuesday morning when gusts of up to 70mph were recorded, causing major disruption in a number of areas across the Province.

It also said heavy rain is likely to affect all areas today and be accompanied by strong winds, with the possibility of localised flooding.

Power NI also warned yesterday of the possibility of damage to the electricity network, especially in exposed locations. It also confirmed that hundreds of engineers had been called in to cope with major problems.