Bridges, castles, parks, golf clubs and markets across Britain were closed today due to strong winds as the Met Office issued an urgent warning of strong gusts until this evening.
Kew Gardens in London was the most high-profile closure due to the weather, while the M48 Severn Bridge linking England and Wales was also closed.
London parks such as Queen’s Park, Highgate Wood and parts of Hampstead Heath have been closed, along with some National Trust sites such as Chirk Castle in Wales.
Markets and golf clubs were also unable to open due to weather conditions after the Met Office said England and Wales would face wind gusts of 55 mph and strong rains.
The wind warning began when it was announced at 6:25 a.m. and will continue until 10:00 p.m. – with forecasters warning of travel delays, power outages and large waves on the coast.
The yellow warning covers all of England as far as Keswick in the west and Scarborough in the east, as well as the whole of Wales and Northern Ireland – but not Scotland.
The Met Office said a low pressure system would move eastwards, just north of Scotland, and bring strong winds to the UK, with gusts of 40-45 mph expected well inland .
Isolated gusts reaching 50 to 55 mph are expected to hit exposed coastlines along with heavy rain, which “will likely lead to disruption and longer travel times.”
An Aer Lingus plane arriving from Dublin has a bumpy landing this morning due to strong winds and rain at Leeds Bradford Airport in West Yorkshire, where a wind warning has been issued.
Storm clouds are pictured over the Oxfordshire countryside at Dunsden this morning
Forecasters said it was “likely that some coastal roads, seafronts and coastal communities could be affected by sea spray and/or large waves”.
They added that “some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely” and “some bus and train services are likely to be affected, with some journeys taking longer”.
Additionally, “some short-term loss of power and other services is possible” and “delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed roads and bridges are likely.”
National Highways said the M48 Severn Bridge linking England and Wales was closed due to winds, with a diversion route via the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.
The Met Office’s yellow wind warning is in force today from 6:25am to 10:00pm for much of the UK.
Kew Gardens in London was the most high-profile closure due to the weather today
And a Kew Gardens spokesperson said: “Kew Gardens will be closed today, Monday April 15, due to adverse weather conditions.
“If you have a pre-booked ticket, your ticketing provider will contact you for more information. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.
It comes as temperatures will be slightly cooler than average with much less rainfall from tomorrow, as the country recovers from a wet and windy start to 2024.
The Met Office said today will be the wettest day of the week as a band of rain heads south-east, causing widespread rainfall across the country.
Temperatures will generally be slightly below their April average, with a particularly cold start in Scotland, where cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow are expected to see minimum temperatures of 2°C or 3°C early in the morning.
Slightly warmer temperatures of around 8°C to 10°C are expected across England throughout the day, with highs of 12°C.
In some colder areas, such as north Wales and Scotland, showers may be accompanied by wintry winds bringing sleet and hail, Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said.
He added: “Monday is definitely the classic April showers. We have quite a windy day across the UK with wind gusts of up to 40-50 mph almost everywhere in the country.
“With this we will have some fairly windy showers which will be slightly wintry in nature across northern areas of the UK.
“You might get a little bit of sleet and definitely some hail, so it will be a much colder day.”
But the rest of the week is expected to be much drier and less windy, with localized showers tomorrow in northern Scotland and parts of Northern Ireland, but sunny weather elsewhere, particularly in the south and the east of England.
Some areas experienced unusually warm temperatures over the weekend, with the highest temperature of 21.8C recorded on Saturday in Writtle, Essex.
So the drop in temperatures to more typical temperatures this week with stronger winds today “could be a bit of a shock to the system for a number of people”, Mr Partridge said. There will be more rain in Scotland on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the Met Office. but temperatures in the rest of the country will be close to their seasonal averages with cloudy skies and scattered light showers.
By Friday, temperatures across the country are expected to reach minimum temperatures of 15C, with slightly warmer conditions in the south.
Forecasters also said the lighter rain seen in parts of the UK would slowly move away towards the end of the week as an area of high pressure drifts east, resulting in a Saturday and a “rather dry” Sunday across the country.
Mr Partridge said light winds and clear skies would make for “cool nights” and cold mornings, although temperatures will rise quickly once the sun rises.
He added that the decrease in rainfall was good news for parts of the country that have experienced or are at risk of flooding in recent weeks.
“We’ve had a lot more rain so far this year than usual, so (next week) it’s a chance for all the places that suffered from all the precipitation to finally recover a little,” he said. he declared.
Figures show England experienced a record amount of rainfall between October 2022 and March 2024, the highest in an 18-month period since comparable data began in 1836.
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