Scotland weather: Search for missing person at Largs halted amid severe weather warnings across Scotland

HM Coastguard said the alarm was raised at about 12.20am on Tuesday. A helicopter and aeroplane joined RNLI lifeboats from Largs and Troon, coastguard rescue teams, police and the fire service in the search.

No one was found and the operation was stood down at about 9am, pending any new information.

Police Scotland said: “A search-and-rescue operation was launched but the person remains missing.”

The search came as another day of disruption was expected across Scotland, with a fresh weather warning in place after Storm Boelo.

Dozens of schools are closed and travel is being affected as high winds continue, with gusts of 70mph possible in exposed areas.

A Met Office yellow warning covering all of Scotland and the far north-east of Northern Ireland is in force until 9pm on Tuesday.

All schools in the Western Isles are shut on Tuesday because of the forecast winds, while 30 primary schools and six secondary schools in the Highlands are closed due to weather-related issues, along with eight schools in Aberdeenshire.

The Met Office said gusts of 50-60 mph are possible quite widely, while some exposed or coastal parts of the north-west and far north of Scotland could see gusts of 70 mph or more.

The latest warning follows Storm Boelo, which hit the UK over the weekend and left two men dead.

There are also speed restrictions on some rail routes in the north and west of Scotland on Tuesday.

Network Rail Scotland said restrictions are in place on the west Highland line, including services to Oban and Mallaig, the far north line, the Highland main line between Blair Atholl and Dalwhinnie, Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, and the Aberdeen to Inverness route.

In the west, restrictions are in force on the Girvan to Stranraer, Kilwinning to Largs and Dalreoch to Helensburgh Central routes.

ScotRail said services between Edinburgh and Dundee will be delayed or revised because of high winds on the Tay Bridge.

Some ferry services are also disrupted, while on the roads the northbound onslip on to the A9 at Stockbridge, Dunblane, was closed because of a fallen tree, according to Traffic Scotland.

Two men died after trees fell on Sunday: a man in his 20s in Finchley, north London, and Richard Baines, 60, in Dumfries and Galloway.

On Monday, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney expressed his condolences for the two men.

Mr Baines, a curator at Logan Botanic Garden, a regional garden of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, died while walking near his home during the storm.

David Knott, director of horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said Mr Baines was an “enthusiastic plantsman” and would be “deeply missed by many”.

Two women were also taken to hospital after being hit by a falling tree in Aberfeldy, Perth and Kinross.

A separate yellow wind warning for western areas of England and parts of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland expired at 3am on Tuesday.

As of 9.30am, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 13 flood alerts and 39 flood warnings in place, while the Environment Agency in England had issued five flood warnings and 41 alerts. Natural Resources Wales had two flood warnings and eight flood alerts.

The Energy Networks Association said 829,400 customers across the UK had been reconnected by 8am following storms Austen and Boelo, while 7,800 customers remained without power.

The Scottish Government Resilience Room met on Monday to discuss the situation.

Scotland’s Social Justice and Housing Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville, who chaired the meeting, said: “I would urge the public to continue to check their local weather forecast and follow the advice of the Met Office, Sepa and the police to ensure they stay safe.”

The Met Office said early rain will clear across eastern and south-eastern England on Tuesday, while heavier rain in the north-west of Scotland will gradually turn to showers.

The strongest winds are expected to continue in Scotland, particularly in the far north and north-west, where gusts in excess of 70mph are possible.

Elsewhere, sunny spells and showers will continue, with some heavy rain in western areas.

Conditions are expected to ease from Wednesday as high pressure begins to influence the UK, bringing lighter winds and drier weather across much of the country by Wednesday evening and Thursday, although western areas may remain breezy with a few light showers.

Greg Dewhurst, senior operational meteorologist at the Met Office, told the Press Association: “Most will have a day of sunny spells and blustery showers on Tuesday, showers heaviest and most frequent in the north.

“Thereafter for the week ahead we see a change in the weather. High pressure will build from the south over the coming days, so generally settling down but potentially bringing some overnight fog at times.

“This high pressure looks set to remain over the UK for the weekend too. So, most places dry, though perhaps some patchy rain in the north at times.”