Commuters are facing misery on roads and rail networks and householders and businesspeople have been told to prepare for flooding as the first named storm of 2024 – Henk – swept across parts of southern Britain, bringing winds of up to 80mph (128km/h).
The Met Office put an amber severe weather warning in place from 10am to 8pm on Tuesday, with power cuts and breaks in mobile phone service possible.
It said there would probably be some damage to buildings and travel disruption, such as tiles blown from roofs and longer journey times and cancellations with some bridges and roads likely to close.
#StormHenk has been named and is forecast to bring very strong winds and heavy rain to parts of southern Britain through the day today
⚠️ Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/tosSdVNfsY
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 2, 2024
The forecaster said large waves could put people at risk on the coast and there could be damage to seaside roads, homes and businesses.
It said: “An area of low pressure crossing southern regions of the UK, now named Storm Henk, will bring an area of very strong winds through Tuesday. Initially the strongest gusts will be centred on south-west England and south Wales during the late morning and early afternoon. Here, gusts of up to 80mph are possible in exposed coastal locations.
“As the low pressure moves north-eastwards, the strongest wind gusts also move eastwards across the UK, with many parts of southern England, the southern Midlands and East Anglia experiencing 50-60mph gusts through the afternoon and evening. Inland gusts could reach up to 60-70mph in one or two places for a time.
“An amber severe weather warning for wind has been issued for these regions from 10am to 8pm. A wider yellow severe weather warning for wind covers the whole of southern England and Wales. A yellow warning for rain covers a wide area of England and Wales as further rain moves in through the day. Rainfall totals from 5pm on Monday to 9pm Tuesday are likely to reach 15-30mm with 35-50mm in a few places.”
Network Rail said services would be disrupted between Exeter and Plymouth because of flooding and asked passengers to check before travelling.
Train services between London Paddington and south Wales were being diverted on Tuesday because of flooding between Swindon and Bristol Parkway.
The RAC reported that one lane of the A30 was closed due to flooding near Okehampton in Devon. By 9.30am on Tuesday there were 110 flood warnings for England in place and 284 alerts. In Wales there were two warnings and 34 alerts.
There is better news on the horizon: the Met Office said there was likely to be more settled weather across the country at the weekend, with colder conditions and frosty nights.
2024-01-02 05:15:57
Source from www.theguardian.com
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