Thousands of Western Isles homes suffered power cuts today (thurs) as the storm hit the electricity network.
Hurricane force winds brought down lines resulting in blackouts for homes across the islands earlier.
Lightning strikes are the biggest danger for island hydro workers as a series of thundery, wintry squalls pass over the Hebrides.
With flashes streaking across the sky, engineers were ordered to stop working around the lines in case they were killed.
Hydro staff are preparing for a possible 24-hour shift working and trekking over boggy moorland in the dark, bitterly cold and soaking conditions to get island homes reconnected.
At lunchtime, a bolt of lighting struck at Garenin which caused a blackout across the Carloway district.
A lightning strike set a pole aflame and snapped it in half on the moor half by Scaliscro on the west coast of Lewis, knocking out the Uig district. The hydro boys braved sleet showers and piercing hailstones to start repairs but it is far too dangerous to go near the charred pole until the risk of electrical storms safely passes.
Scottish Hydro Electric Power Distribution said some 6,000 properties across the north of Scotland lost power during the storm, particularly in Fort William, Oban and the Western Isles.
