FORESTRY bosses are bracing themselves for likely damage and windblow across the UK in the wake of Storm Isha.

Many parts of the country were battered by the storm on Sunday evening, with winds and gusts hitting up to 99 mph. Fallen trees have affected public transport on Monday and thousands of properties have been hit by power cuts. 

In what's believed to be the first confirmed casualty, an 84-year-old man lost his life in Falkirk, Scotland, after a car in which he was a passenger crashed into a tree.

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As the storm clears, forestry officials are now assessing the damage, but believe it will likely take some time before the full extent of the storm's destruction is known.

The South of Scotland is understood to have been the worst affected through the night, but parts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland were also hit by high winds, with woodland closures likely. 

Forestry Journal: Trees have come down in cities across the UK, including this one in Belfast which damaged a carTrees have come down in cities across the UK, including this one in Belfast which damaged a car (Image: PA)

However, initial reports suggest Isha will not have had the same devastating impact as 2021's Arwen, in which 12,000 hectares of tree loss occurred across Great Britain. 

“We have requested satellite data collection in key regions from Forest Research and we are currently contacting key stakeholders in the sector to get feedback on how the storm has affected their woodlands," a Scottish Forestry spokesperson said.

"Although it is at a very early stage, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has informed us that although they have trees down, they do not believe it is anywhere near to the damage caused by Storm Arwen." 

Confirming that it is too soon to know if the Scottish Windblow Action Committee will need to be convened, the spokesperson outlined that further high winds this week are likely to bring down Isha-damaged trees that are still standing. 

“We’d like to remind woodland owners and the sector in general that, if needed, there is useful information on our website on managing larger scale windblow," they added. “There are also few key points to bear in mind in readiness of greater storms should they appear over the winter period – these include developing a forest-level windblow contingency plan, subscribing to the Met Office weather warming system, and ensuring key staff and stakeholders are familiar with forest-level contingency plans. 

Forestry Journal: Fallen trees have affected rail services across the UK Fallen trees have affected rail services across the UK (Image: Supplied)

"We also recommend that landowners, both large and small, look into insurance or some sort of cover just in case serious windblow does occur.”

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Forestry England officials will asses sites this morning, but believe it could be the end of the week before the full picture is known. 

Elsewhere, a number of trees in Northern Ireland made famous by the TV series Game Of Thrones have been damaged and felled by Storm Isha.

Work is being carried out to clear up at the Dark Hedges site in Co Antrim.

The tunnel of trees became famous when it was featured in the HBO fantasy series and now attracts significant numbers of tourists from around the world.

The Met Office said the highest recorded wind speed during Storm Isha was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland, with gusts of 90mph at Capel Curig in Snowdonia on Sunday.

A red warning for wind in north-east Scotland was in place until 5am on Monday, with amber warnings covering much of the UK until 6am and further yellow warnings covering the entire country until noon.

A further yellow warning for wind for Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and northern England is active from 4pm on Tuesday until noon on Wednesday.

The Met Office said “everybody” has been affected by the storm.

Heavy downpours battered some places, with 28 flood warnings in place in England and 50 in Scotland.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the weather was putting “significant pressure” on the 999 system and urged people to report non-emergencies online or by calling 101.