Britain braced for 90mph winds and more heavy showers
Wind and rain could cause further travel disruption on Friday, after the Met Office issued yellow and amber warnings indicating “severe or hazardous weather”.
The worst affected areas are expected to be northern England and northern parts of Wales.
John Griffiths, of the MeteoGroup UK, said: “There will be some very, very strong winds and blustery showers in places tomorrow (Friday).
“Thje winds will start to pick up this afternoon and evening. Tomorrow around 6am there will be some strong gusts of wind, going up to 90mph.”
Helen Roberts, a forecaster from the Met Office, said: “The storm will push in from thw est overnight, bringing wet and windy weather to much of the UK.
“There will be very strong gales inland at times, and severe gales on the western coast.”
There are currently 59 flood warnings and 146 flood alerts in place. For our live flood warnings map see: http://t.co/pw414PYzq8 #floodaware
— Environment Agency (@EnvAgency) December 26, 2013
Amber Warning of Wind for Yorkshire & Humber: Amber Warning of Wind for Yorkshire & Humber : North Yorkshire v… http://t.co/43uykgpqZi
— Met Office warnings (@metofficeUK) December 26, 2013
Heavy rain forecast
The latest storm warning comes after thousands of people were left without power and hundreds were affected by floods over Christmas.
The Environment Agency (EA) said on Christmas day there had been an estimated 1,000 reports of properties flooding in England.
The EA has two severe warnings – the highest level of alert, meaning there is a danger to life – in place in the south west: at Beaulieu Garden Park Home site and Iford Bridge Home Park, where evacuations have already taken place.
There were 93 flood warnings and 185 flood alerts last night.
Firefighters broke their strike in parts of England because of the storms earlier this week, and Gatwick airprot chiefs face a possible investigation into the chaos on Christmas eve after a power outage at its north terminal.
UK Power Networks say there are less than 20,000 properties in the south east without power and that the east of England is now virtually back to normal, apart from a few isolated pockets of customers.
But the company added: “Due to the severity of the storm damage in Kent, Surrey and Sussex, it may take until the end of the week to restore power supplies to the final pockets of customers in these areas, though work is continuing to reconnect supplies as quickly as possible.”
For more information, visit the Environment Agency and Met Office websites
