Flight and train cancellations affected parts of northern England on Thursday, and ferry traffic between islands off the west coast of Scotland was halted.

At the peak of the Cairngorm mountain in the Scottish Highlands, wind speeds were measured at more than 51 meters per second. Meteorologists issued warnings of wind speeds of up to 35.5 meters per second in northern Scotland and winds of more than 24 meters per second in northern England and Northern Ireland. In Shetland there were warnings for ice and snow, and schools there were closed.

Strong winds are expected to ease over the UK during the day, as Pia moves east towards Denmark, northern Germany and Poland. The southwestern part of Norway was also affected.

On Thursday afternoon, a storm hit the west coast of Denmark. At 15.00 the wind was 25.2 meters per second at Thorsminde. In Thyborøn, an hour later, a wind speed of 40 meters per second was measured, which is equivalent to the strength of a hurricane.

It has been seven years since the last time strong winds occurred in Denmark, reports Danish TV 2.

While the Danish people were asked to be careful, Pia also came to the rescue of consumers by turning on the wind turbines. From Friday evening until Friday morning, electricity will be free in Jutland and Funen, while in Zealand it will only be a few cents, explained Morten Wethje Søndergaard at Norlys Energy Trading.