LONDON — Tropical Storm Ophelia is battering Scotland and northern England after leaving three people dead and hundreds of thousands without power in Ireland.
The former Atlantic hurricane downed trees and power lines, sent waves surging over coastal defenses and disrupted transport again Tuesday, a day after making landfall on Ireland’s south coast with gusts of almost 100 miles an hour.
Britain’s Met Office weather service said Scotland could see heavy rain and gusts of up to 70 mph, with winds gradually diminishing through Tuesday.
Schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were closed for a second day as authorities assessed the damage from the worst storm to hit Ireland in decades.
Irish authorities said it could take several days to restore power to 330,000 homes.
Commuters faced delays, and downed trees blocked rail lines.
Train services between the Scottish cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and from London to Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth were slowed down by trees that were blown onto the tracks.
In Dumfries and Galloway in western Scotland, a scout hall roof was blown off by winds of up of up to 77 mph. In Cumbria in northwest England, part of a soccer club’s stand was ripped off by the wind.
Some areas hit by the storm were affected by water shortages.
By Tuesday, the Met Office reduced the area covered by a yellow weather warning, though it said windy weather is still likely.
Parts of southern Norway reported a smoky smell Tuesday morning, which the local meteorological institute said was likely carried there by Ophelia from the wave of forest fires in Portugal and Spain that killed at least 41 people over the weekend.