- Three wind warnings – for the south west, west Wales and the south coast of England
Britain will face further strong winds today and tomorrow, with more warnings in place after parts of the country were hit by two consecutive storms.
The Met Office has issued three wind warnings: for the southwest between 6pm today and 6am tomorrow; for west Wales from 1am tomorrow to 3pm tomorrow; and for the south coast between 1 a.m. tomorrow and 12 p.m. tomorrow.
Heavy rain has also brought a risk of flooding to large parts of England today, with the Environment Agency issuing 26 flood warnings as well as 160 lesser flood alerts.
Further showers will affect Britain this week, with a rain warning in place of up to 60mm in parts of Scotland between 1am and 6pm tomorrow.
The Thames Barrier will close today, with officials saying this was due to “the forecast of a very high tide combined with the continued high flows of a very wet winter”.
It comes after the UK was hit by the remnants of Storm Olivia last Friday, before Storm Kathleen hit on Saturday, particularly affecting the west of the country.
Waves crash into cars in Douglas on the Isle of Man this weekend as Storm Kathleen hits
The Met Office has issued three wind warnings and one rain warning for the UK tomorrow.
WIND WARNING 1: The first alert is for the South-West between 6 p.m. today and 6 a.m. tomorrow
WIND WARNING 2: The second warning for west Wales is between 1am and 3pm tomorrow
WIND WARNING 3: The third warning for the south coast is between 1am and 12pm tomorrow
RAIN WARNING: Up to 2.4 inches (60mm) could fall in Scotland between 1am and 6pm tomorrow
The first wind warning begins at 6pm this evening, covering parts of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, with gusts “expected to reach 40 to 50 mph widely and up to 60 or 70 mph along exposed coasts, most probably through Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”
The Met Office said “large waves combined with high tides can have impacts along coastlines”.
Forecasters added: “There is a small risk of injury or danger to life from large waves and beach material being blown onto seafronts, coastal roads and properties – or from flying debris elsewhere.”
They said there was “a risk that power outages could occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage”.
Some delays in road, rail, air and ferry transport were also possible.
The second wind warning is for west Wales and begins at 1am tomorrow, with the Met Office expecting strong gusts blowing from the north-west to affect the area.
Winds will blow across south-west Wales early tomorrow, before reaching north Wales and north-west England later in the morning.
The Environment Agency has 160 flood alerts (orange) and 26 warnings (red) for England.
Gusts will largely reach 40 to 50 mph, with gusts of 60 or 65 mph expected for the exposed coasts of the southwest and west Wales overnight.
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 in road, rail, air and ferry transport were likely, while short-term loss of electricity and other services was possible.
The third wind warning also begins at 1am tomorrow, with the Met Office saying a “wave of strong onshore winds will affect parts of the Channel coast Monday night and Tuesday morning”.
They said gusts would reach “40 to 50 mph just inland from the coastal strip and potentially up to 60 mph along the most exposed coastal areas.”
It comes after Storm Kathleen erupted on Saturday with a gust of 91mph recorded in the Cairngorms while winds reached 73mph in Drumalbin, Lanarkshire.
High winds left 12,000 homes without power in the Republic of Ireland and a further 750 in Northern Ireland, while Scotland was also hit hard.
But very hot air was also drawn into parts of eastern England on the same day, where the UK’s hottest day of the year was recorded so far, Santon Downham in Suffolk reaching 20.9°C.
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