Two lorries overturned along the A75 due to the high winds

A Scottish Power spokesman said the region was at the "centre of the storm" on Thursday afternoon and evening.

He added that there were "small pockets" of problems across the area, although the number of homes affected had remained relatively low.

Police said Castle Douglas, Terregles, New Galloway, Newton Stewart and Sorbie were among the areas concerned.

"A significant number of our resources are in Dumfries and Galloway," a Scottish Power spokesman said.

"That is the centre of the storm at the moment.

"We have got a lot of teams in the area but they cannot get up to fix poles at the moment."

Ferries affected

He said the total number of homes without power was probably in the "mid hundreds".

However, he added that the company was prepared for any deterioration of the situation.

Dumfries and Galloway police received 47 emergency calls in a short spell in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The A7 road was closed due to a fallen tree but has since reopened.

The A75 between Carrutherstown and Mouswald remained open despite two lorries being overturned.

A police spokesman said ferry crossings from Stranraer and Cairnryan had already been severely affected by the weather.

He said there were a large number of heavy goods vehicles "stacked up" in the area waiting for the strong winds to subside.