THE Tyne Valley experienced gale force winds this week as Storm Ophelia hit the region.

A road was blocked near Chollerford when a tree was brought down on the B6318 in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

It was cleared by Northumberland County Council officers and the road reopened around 5am.

The Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for the region on Monday and Tuesday, as the storm threatened to affect travel services and power networks.

Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the region’s power network, worked throughout Monday night to restore power to around 18,680 customers across the North-East.

This included 150 homes near Ninebanks, which suffered a power cut from 11.35pm on Monday until 6.45am on Tuesday .

However, the North-East was left relatively unscathed compared to the destruction caused in parts of Ireland, where three people were killed in weather-related accidents and gusts of up to 97mph were recorded in Cork.

As the storm, which developed to the south-west of the Azores, approached Tynedale on Monday, the skies turned an ominous colour, with some people reporting an orange or yellow tint to the sky.

The Met Office said this was caused by dust swept over from the Sahara and smoke particles from Iberian wildfires.

Met Office chief forecaster Paul Gundersen said on Tuesday: “The worst of Ophelia has now passed and the winds will continue to ease as she moves out into the North Sea.

“Strong, damaging winds were recorded in the warning areas on Monday, with gusts of up to 90mph recorded.”

The Met Office has warned that further strong winds and rain are expected to move in from the west at the end of the week, leading to the potential for further disruption.