A massive £500 million clean-up and repair effort is underway across Scotland after the 'Storm of the Century' caused widespread damage and destruction.
Weather experts admitted Storm Eowyn's terrifying 100mph winds on Friday were more powerful than anything seen since the 1990s.
The complete devastation became apparent yesterday as emergency services and repair companies began clearing debris and fallen trees and repairing homes and buildings badly damaged by the hurricane-force blasts.
Last night around 60,000 households were still without electricity with many told it would not be restored until later this evening.
Insurers are now starting to calculate the financial costs of 'one of the most significant storms' in 40 years.
It is already clear the bill is approaching hundreds of millions of pounds.
To date, the biggest bill for such claims was in 2023 when the UK saw 11 winter storms.
Three of them, Babet, Ciaran and Debi, cost insurers a total of £352 million.
A workman surveys damage at Helensburgh Leisure Center in the wake of fierce winds.
Builders move in to repair a roof that was torn off a house in the storm in Tranent, East Lothian.
A snow plow was out yesterday clearing the A9 near Inverness due to heavy snow.
But Éowyn ripped through the central belt – including Glasgow and Edinburgh – so insurance experts predict a final total approaching £500m.
One of the worst damaged buildings was Helensburgh Leisure Center in Dunbartonshire, where dramatic images showed the roof being ripped off by strong winds.
Yesterday, a team of workers began the task of clearing away tons of rubble.
Power companies have provided free food and hotel rooms to those affected by power loss, and customers have been reminded that they are entitled to financial compensation if they are left without power for more than 12 hours.
However, train services are unlikely to fully recover until tomorrow, such as the destruction on the railways.
Network Rail reported 400 individual incidents across the network. These include trees on tracks, damaged overhead wires, power supplies and other objects on the line.
Scotrail said it managed to reopen some lines, including Inverness to Perth, Elgin and Aberdeen, Dundee to Aberdeen and Perth, and Edinburgh to Tweedbank, Dunbar and Drem.
A car in the west end of Glasgow lies under a tree toppled by high winds of 100mph.
A garden shed was swept on the Perth to Stirling train line in Forgandny.
But a number of routes suffered major disruption yesterday while Network Rail carried out inspections and repairs.
Network Rail has deployed a helicopter team to inspect the tracks after a roof was found on the tracks at the entrance to the tunnel at Glasgow's Queen Street high level yesterday.
Scotrail Customer Operations Director Phil Campbell said there had been 'significant damage across the country'.
He added: 'Network Rail colleagues have been working flat out to identify it and institute fixes where they can.'
Police Scotland said officers and staff responded to almost 1,900 weather-related incidents across the country related to Storm éowyn, while the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it had responded to around 300 incidents.
Police Scotland said yesterday: 'While most main roads are open, a large number of local routes across the country remain closed or disrupted due to debris and fallen trees, which continue to cause problems.
'Motorists should be careful. If roads are closed, find an alternate route and don't endanger yourself by trying to clear debris. '
Meanwhile, a second storm is on its way, Storm Herminia, which has been named by the Spanish weather service.
The UK's office is that it won't cause anything like the same damage, but it could hamper cleanup efforts.
Met office forecaster Tom Morgan said: 'There will be poor driving conditions on Sunday evening into Monday, with gales between 50 and 60 km/h, but things will calm down later. Eowyn was an exceptional storm, stronger than we have seen in many years.
'In fact, with 100mph gusts recorded at Drumalbin in South Lanarkshire, these were the strongest readings we have seen since the 1990s.'
A fallen tree destroyed a car and struck a wooden structure in DeChmont, West Lothian.
Yellow weather warnings also remain in place for Scotland – an ice and snow warning for most of the mainland until 10am this morning and a wind warning for the far north west coast and western islands until 10am this morning.
Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning programme, Jim Dale, senior meteorologist at British Weather Services, said it was “one of the most significant storms” of his 40-year career.
“People will recognize this in terms of the damage that has been caused,” he said, adding that the storm is now heading towards Norway, leaving wintry conditions across much of Scotland.
“It's a matter of picking up the pieces, literally, and some without electricity may take a little more time to get it back, but that's the kind of normality. There is a lot of work to do after the storm, not just while it is happening. '
The storm first hit Ireland, where 20-year-old Kacper Dudek was killed after a tree fell on his car in County Donegal.
A Glasgow council worker also suffered facial injuries when his van was struck by a falling tree branch.
Schools and nurseries in Scotland were closed on Friday, while non-urgent planned hospital procedures were postponed in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian.
More than 1,100 flights were cancelled, with Dublin, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Glasgow airports the worst affected.
Buses were widely disrupted and many ferry services were cancelled.
The Tay Road Bridge was closed in both directions, while the Forth Road, Erskine and Clackmannanshire Bridges were also closed.
The Queensferry Crossing was open to cars only.
Celtic's Scottish Premier League match against Dundee was called off yesterday after the stadium in Parkhead was damaged by the storm.
John Swinney appealed for 'Patience' as work is carried out to restore power supplies and transport services.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister said: “Work is underway to restore power supplies and transport networks. It will take some time to complete and I appeal to the public's patience.
“Power Company personnel and our officials are working at speed to restore services.”
Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said the advice against travel had been lifted but people should remain 'vigilant' to disruption.
The Helensburgh Leisure Center suffered serious damage in high winds on Friday.
“With some yellow weather warnings still in place and the clean-up operation underway, I'm asking people to remain vigilant for disruption,” she said.
“Teams across the network will continue to work tirelessly. I would like to express our gratitude for their incredible continued efforts.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said 'great caution' was still required from the public during the clean-up.
“The less traffic there is that will help the recovery because it clears the way for utilities and other operators to continue the recovery operation.”
A spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers said: 'If you suffer damage to your property or vehicle, please contact your insurer as soon as possible for help and advice.'
