London, Thanasis Gavos

Major transportation problems and damage due to the winds, rain and snow has caused another storm in the UK.

Storm Gerrit brought winds gusting in excess of 135km/h to Scotland on Wednesday, where around 14,000 households remain without power. In one case, on Mount Cairngorm in the Scottish Highlands, a wind gust of 170 km/h was recorded.

The snow that has covered the most northern parts of Scotland created extremely difficult conditions on a highway in the area, resulting in hundreds of vehicles being trapped for hours.

Parts of other central Scottish motorways were flooded, requiring a water-pumping operation.

Bridges in Wales also remained closed due to strong winds, but also some parks in London, for the risk of uprooting trees.

Many rail links in Scotland do not operate today for a second day so that security checks can be carried out. Damage to power lines, uprooted trees, flood waters, snow, and even a landslide have created obstacles for wires.

The passengers of a train even in Scotland they had to be removed from the train with the help of rescuers when a tree fell on the tracks.

Rail services in the rest of the UK are gradually being restored after widespread problems on Wednesday. Some services connecting London with the north of England are still running with significant delays.

Particular problems due to damage to markings were recorded on train routes to and from Luton Airport, resulting in passengers missing their flights.

With difficulty and turbulence, several aircraft landed at British airports on Wednesday due to the strong winds, fortunately without any accidents being reported.

18 flights were canceled at Heathrow Airport due to air traffic control restrictions as a result of severe weather conditions.

For the second day today, there will be no ferry services between Southampton and the Isle of Wight in the English Channel.

Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts remain in effect mainly in central and northern England, but also in Scotland and Wales. Although overall temperatures on Thursday are forecast to be warm for the season, forecasters say there will be localized heavy thunderstorms during the day.

In the Manchester area authorities have declared a major event due to a local tornado which shortly before midnight damaged the roofs of about a hundred houses and uprooted trees. The affected residents spent the night in a municipal hall.