Storm Ali - LIVE: Two dead and 'major incident' declared as winds of up to 100mph batter UK and Ireland
Woman dies after caravan blown off cliff and man killed by fallen tree
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Two people have been killed as Storm Ali batters the UK and Ireland with as torrential rain and winds of up to 100ph.
In County Galway, Ireland, a woman in her 50s died after the caravan she was in was blown off a cliff by the storm.
A water company engineer was killed by a falling tree while working in a park in County Down, Northern Ireland.
Forecasters had warned of a “danger to life” with the possibility of flying debris and damage to buildings. Gusts of wind have reached 100mph, said the Met Office said, which issued yellow and amber warnings covering Northern Ireland, Scotland, northwest Wales and the north of England.
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The worst of Ali’s weather was forecast to be in the north, although areas outside the official weather warnings did not escape wet and windy conditions.
The unsettled weather is due to last right through the week, but an improvement is expected early next week as drier weather is set to take hold.
About 33,200 homes are without power in Scotland as Storm Ali continues to cause major disruption across the country.
Scottish Power said 58,000 homes had no electricity at its peak today, while SSE said 13,000 had experienced cuts.
Many of the homes still without supply are in southwest Scotland.
Dundee's new V&A museum has been forced to shut early over safety fears due to "exceptionally high" winds at its entrance.
The £80.1m museum - which opened its doors on Saturday - has said visitors already inside can take refuge until 5pm.
A man in his 20s has been killed and another in his 40s was injured after a tree fell on them in County Armagh, police have said.
The incident happened near the gates of Slieve Gullion Forest Park earlier this afternoon.
The men were reportedly engineers for Northern Ireland Water.
Sinn Fein politician Megan Fearon has said she is "shocked and saddened" to learn of the death of a worker in a country park in her constituency.
The Northern Ireland Assembly called for people to be wary of Storm Ali's "threat to life and property".
She said:
The local community are shocked and saddened at the news that a man was tragically killed and another man injured after a tree fell on them at Slieve Gullion Forest Park today.
"I want to extend my condolences to the family and friends of this man at this difficult time. The thoughts of our entire community are with them.
"I also want to commend the emergency services for risking dangerous conditions to respond swiftly to this incident to help others.
"Storm Ali has already caused significant disruption and damage today as it makes its way across the island of Ireland.
"Many trees have fallen, over 250,000 homes across Ireland have been left without power and key roads are closed.
"No-one should underestimate the potential threat to life and property from the storm.
North Yorkshire Police has said it was called to a road incident every three minutes this afternoon as Storm Ali makes driving conditions treacherous.
Officers were called to 81 incidents including fallen trees, blocked roads and damaged cars between noon and 4pm.
The force urged people to call their local council, rather than police, "unless there is a significant risk to others or there has been a collision involving injuries".
Winds of more than 102mph have forced the closure of the Tay Road Bridge, which links Dundee to Newport-on-Tay.
Gusts of 102.2mph hit the bridge at 3pm, according to monitoring equipment.
The bridge, which crosses the River Tay, has been closed to traffic and pedestrians and maintenance crews are working to repair wind damage.
Winds of more than 90mph have been recorded throughout the day, according to the bridge's management.
The Met Office has downgraded a weather warning across Scotland, Northern Ireland and north England from amber to yellow.
While it looks as though the worst of Storm Ali may now be over, forecasters warned winds of up to 60mph still posed a danger.
Yellow warnings are set to be in place for England Wales until Friday night as wet and windy conditions continue.
The woman killed this morning when raging winds blew a caravan off a cliff in Ireland is understood to have been a Swiss tourist.
The victim, in her 50s, is thought to have been sleeping inside the caravan when it was swept onto a beach on the coast of County Galway.
She had been staying overnight alone in a caravan park at Claddaghduff, near Clifden.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has restored power to more than 16,000 homes which lost supply during Storm Ali.
Another 4,900 homes remain without electricity this evening.
SSEN said most of the outages had been caused by fallen trees and wind-borne debris striking the overhead line network
A woman killed after caravan she was in was blown off a cliff in western Ireland has been named locally as Elvira Ferraii.
The Swiss holidaymaker was staying at the Clifden ecoBeach Camping and Caravan Park in Country Galway when a strong gust threw the caravan down a rocky 15ft slope and onto the beach.
Emergency services were called before 8am on Wednesday morning but the victim, aged in her 50s, was pronounced dead at the scene after a brief search.
She was reported to have been staying at the remote beauty spot for several weeks.
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