Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution moved to Weather Warning status in the north of Scotland on 1 August ahead of potential gale-force winds on Monday 4 August, and by 3 August said it remained at Yellow Alert status ahead of Storm Floris, which it described as highly likely to cause disruption1.
The Met Office issued a Yellow Weather Warning for high winds for Monday and Tuesday and named the period of severe weather Storm Floris1. By 3 August the Met Office had upgraded its warnings, with an Amber Weather Warning for Wind in place from 1000 to 2200 on Monday for most of Scotland, and lesser Yellow Wind Warnings for the whole of the country from 0600 on Monday2. SSEN's 4 August update gave the Amber warning as running from 1000 to 2300 that day, with a separate Yellow Wind Warning for Orkney and Shetland from midnight on Tuesday through to 08003. Gust projections rose across the weekend: SSEN said gusts in exposed areas of 90mph were possible on 3 August, and on 4 August said projected gust speeds had increased and could now be as high as 100mph in exposed areas2.
SSEN said it had drafted in several hundred extra team members, cancelled planned network maintenance so repairs could be prioritised, added engineers to its control room and field teams, and bolstered its customer contact centre3. It said text messages had already been sent to over 100,000 of its more vulnerable customers, with individual telephone calls made on Sunday to the most vulnerable people in the areas expected to be worst hit3.
"Storm Floris is a relatively rare summer storm, and the weather forecast suggests it'll have the potential to cause significant disruption to power supplies throughout today, and into the early hours of Tuesday."
SSEN said customers are eligible for its Priority Services Register if they are deaf or hard of hearing, have a disability, live with children under five, are blind or partially-sighted, have a chronic illness, use medical equipment or aids reliant on electricity, or are over 60, and that all its priority services are free3. It gave the registration number as 0800 294 3259 and the emergency power cut number as 1052.
| Date | SSEN status | Met Office warning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 August | Weather Warning status | Yellow Weather Warning for high winds, Monday and Tuesday1 |
| 3 August | Yellow Alert | Amber Wind Warning 1000 to 2200 Monday; Yellow Wind Warnings from 0600 Monday2 |
| 4 August | Yellow Alert over the weekend | Amber Wind Warning 1000 to 2300; Yellow Wind Warning for Orkney and Shetland from midnight Tuesday to 08003 |
Why it matters for households
A power cut removes a home's electricity supply regardless of how that supply is generated, so a storm of this kind tests household energy independence in the most direct way: the ability to keep lighting, refrigeration, heating controls, communications and any medically reliant equipment running when the network is down. SSEN's own account sets out the scale it expects, with disruption to the electricity network described as expected and hundreds of extra people stood up to repair faults once it is safe to do so3. The areas named as likely to face the strongest winds were Argyll, the Highlands, the Western Isles, Perthshire, Angus, Moray and Aberdeenshire, with Aberdeenshire possibly seeing sustained storm-force winds into the early hours of Tuesday3. SSEN's storm response and priority services arrangements cover households that depend on electricity for medical equipment, and the wider picture of how supply security is managed sits under national supply.
What happens next
SSEN said it would continue to monitor the weather closely and issue further updates depending on the forecast1. The Amber Wind Warning was due to run until 2300 on Monday, the Yellow Wind Warning for the whole country until the end of Monday night, and the separate Yellow Wind Warning for Orkney and Shetland from midnight on Tuesday through to 08003. SSEN said faults can be reported on 105 at any time, or through its Power Track website or app3. No restoration times or numbers of customers affected had been reported at the time of SSEN's 4 August update.