Stats from Storm Chandra

Photo: Mike Quine

Storm Chandra brought widespread disruption across the island this week, with wind speeds reaching up to 74mph in some areas, though forecasters say conditions were not exceptional by recent standards.

Colin Gartshore, forecaster at Ronaldsway Met Office, told Gef that peak gusts were recorded at 67mph at the Airport, 70mph at the Point of Ayre, 74mph at Douglas Harbour and 64mph in Peel.

‘These values are obviously very strong, but nothing exceptional at all,’ he said.

‘Storm Bram in December last year was stronger, recording 74mph at the airport, while Storm Eowyn in January 2025 brought gusts of up to 80mph and caused significant damage to trees across the island.’

Storm Chandra, which was subject to a yellow weather warning, also brought around 20mm of rain and some coastal overtopping.

Despite the warning level, the storm caused significant disruption on and off the island.

All flights and sailings were cancelled throughout Tuesday, while fallen trees led to road closures across the island.

All civic amenity sites were closed for the day because of the high winds.

On Wednesday, motorists were warned to plan ahead as clearance work continued.

The Switchback reopened around midday, but Kentraugh Back Road in Port St Mary remained closed after several large trees were brought down.

Clearance work is ongoing and is being carried out during daylight hours for safety reasons.

In Douglas, Granville Street remained closed following reports of falling roof slates.

The closure is in place at the request of Douglas City Council, which is working with property owners to ensure the area is safe before reopening.

Elsewhere, storm debris blocked drains on the A3 between Kirk Michael and Glen German, causing localised flooding and poor visibility.

The road is due to close to through traffic from 10am to midday on Thursday, with diversions in place.