WINDS of up to 124mph lashed parts of the country, killing three drivers and leaving thousands without power.
Scotland took the brunt. 60,000 people lost electricity after gales sent trees and telegraph poles toppling.
But northern England and Northern Ireland were also badly hit by the high winds, which blew two trucks over, claiming the lives of two motorists.
The A1 from Edinburgh to Newcastle was closed north of Berwick after a collision involving a lorry and a car.
The car driver, a man, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, which happened near Eyemouth at around 7.30pm yesterday. The lorry driver suffered minor injuries.
Another driver was killed when his articulated vehicle was blown off Foyle Bridge in Londonderry as 90mph winds battered parts of the province.
In Tayside, a van driver died when his vehicle and a lorry were in a collision on the A90 northbound near Forfar just after 7pm.
The north west of Scotland and islands, where many schools and offices remain closed today, was taking the brunt of the weather.
Gusts of 124mph were recorded on North Rona, while winds reached 105mph on Barra, both in the Western Isles.
The Diabaig and Scalpay areas in the Scottish Highlands were without a 999 service early today.
10,000 homes in the Northumberland town of Hexham are without water.
The Scottish Environment Agency has issued 13 flood warnings.
* A Spanish fishing boat missing in high seas off the Western Isles has been located with the 19 crew reported safe.
AS Britain recovered from another night of gales, there were stories of terrible conditions from across the world.
And some experts have linked the recent dramatic weather to the Asian earthquake.
United States: Blizzards have brought 3ft of snow in parts of Colorado and New York, and temperatures have plummeted in Chicago.
Utah has suffered severe flooding and deadly avalanches and flooding have hit Arizona and the Ohio Valley.
Torrential storms in California created floods and landslides which killed four and left dozens homeless.
Normally mild southern California has become a giant flood zone.
The hillside in La Conchita cascaded down like a brown river. Trees and vegetation were carried away.
South Australia Fierce bushfires in searing heat have killed several people.
Many families have had to flee their homes - some escaping into the sea.
The blaze on the Eyre Peninsula, about 250 miles west of Adelaide, was the worst of several wildfires reported around South Australia state, where temperatures have topped 44C (111ºF) in recent days.
Residents of at least one township were forced to evacuate their homes and seek refuge on a beach to avoid the flames.
