A major incident was declared in parts of Scotland after drivers were stranded in blizzard conditions during Storm Gerrit. Six ploughs and three tractors were deployed in an attempt to rescue cars and a jackknifed lorry from the A9 and surrounding roads in the Scottish Highlands. By 9pm on Wednesday it was announced the road had reopened but police advised drivers to travel only if it was necessary. Paul Sweeney, a Labour MSP for Glasgow, posted on social media that a ScotRail InterCity 125 train had hit a tree, smashing the driver’s cab. Sweeney wrote on X: “Horrendous tree impact damage to a ScotRail InterCity 125 locomotive today, en route from Dundee to Glasgow. Thankfully, the driver is unharmed.” The West Midlands and east Midlands are expected to face the worst of rising flood waters, with the Environment Agency issuing warnings for rivers in Halesowen, Marchington, Warwick and Woodborough. In East Yorkshire, there is a warning in place in the upper Hull catchment. Sepa, the Scottish environment agency, has issued seven flood warnings, including across Dumfries and Galloway, Orkney and the Scottish Borders. There are 139 flood alerts in place in England, particularly across the west, running from Carlisle down to Bournemouth. There are a further 26 in Wales and 15 in Scotland. Travellers were warned of delays and potentially hazardous conditions on the way home from their Christmas holidays as the UK braced for the storm. Yellow wind and rain warnings are in place across much of the UK. In Scotland, the storm led to power cuts at thousands of properties, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) Distribution said. The firm said that as of 9:45pm on Wednesday, electrical supply had been restored to about 25,000 customers, but about 16,000 other properties were still without power. SSEN added that some customers in rural areas may need to wait up to 48 hours for their electricity to be restored, particularly in the north east of Scotland. By midday on Wednesday, at least 18 British Airways flights had been cancelled owing to the storm. Air traffic control restrictions meant the BA flights due to operate to or from Heathrow airport were axed. They were return domestic trips to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Manchester, and flights to Barcelona, Berlin, Madrid and Paris Charles de Gaulle. A BA spokesperson said: “We have apologised to our customers for any disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible.” The Met Office said Mickleden in Cumbria had the most rainfall on Wednesday, with 80mm, followed by Thirlmere in Cumbria with 68mm and Millport in Buteshire with 58mm. A man was rescued from a car that became stuck in flood water in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, on Wednesday morning, while major roads in Aberdeen, Ceredigion, Ross-shire and Wolverhampton were blocked by fallen trees. In Dumbarton, a tree fell on to a train line and caught fire. Dr Shaun Dellenty was among the motorists caught up in the congestion on the A9. Dellenty wrote on X: “Huge lines of stationary traffic and severe gales and drifting snow. Not moved for two and a half hours. Seen one snowplough so far.” The A9 and the A96 at Huntly were closed in both directions between Dunkeld and Ballinluig due to flooding while the A82 Invergarry to Fort Augustus was closed in both directions due to fallen trees, according to Traffic Scotland’s website. Flooding between Lockerbie and Carlisle means all rail lines are blocked between those stations. Avanti West Coast advised passengers not to attempt to travel north of Preston on Wednesday. Those with pre-booked tickets for travel between Preston and either Edinburgh or Glasgow can board trains on Thursday or Friday. Network Rail Scotland warned passengers that speed restrictions would be in place on Wednesday and disruption would continue into Thursday while lines were inspected for damage. In London, some parks including Golders Hill Park and Hill Garden and Pergola, West Ham Park and Queen’s Park were shut due to high winds. The Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said the storm was named as a warning to people coming home after the Christmas holidays. He said on Tuesday: “Due to the extent of the warnings that are being issued, it was deemed that a named storm would be a good idea because it will highlight to the public the risk associated, particularly as tomorrow is likely to be quite a busy day on the roads with people travelling back home from Christmas.” A storm is named when it is deemed to have the potential to have a medium or high impact on the UK or Ireland. The Met Office and Met Éireann launched the scheme in 2015 to name storms as part of an effort to raise awareness of extreme weather events.