Met Office expects potentially hazardous conditions on the roads in all four nations, with only central UK escaping a wind warning
Drivers have been warned of potentially hazardous conditions as Storm Gerrit hits the UK on Wednesday.
A number of yellow wind and rain warnings are in place across much of the UK and wintry hazards are likely, forecasters have warned.
Continue reading...Snowflakes in Aviemore warrant Met Office certification but mid-Atlantic conditions hand Exeter airport 13.2C
Forecasters have officially declared a “white Christmas” with snow falling across parts of Scotland – after the record for the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day was broken further south.
Snow, sleet and rain moved across parts of Scotland, with Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore recording snowflakes, the Met Office said.
Continue reading...Warmest 24 December recorded in Britain since 1997, with forecast for 13C in south of England on Christmas Day
The UK has experienced its warmest Christmas Eve in more than 20 years.
Temperatures in Heathrow, south-west London, hit 15.3C on Sunday, well above average for the time of year, making it the warmest 24 December since 1997.
Continue reading...Last-minute Eurotunnel strike by French unions in Calais halts services as Storm Pia causes travel problems across country
Passengers are suffering fresh disruption in the Christmas getaway after severe weather left rail lines blocked around Britain, while a strike by French Eurotunnel workers has halted Eurostar trains and cross-Channel shuttle services.
Strong winds from Storm Pia, including gusts of up to 80mph in northern Britain, have blown down trees on tracks around the country.
Continue reading...Parts of UK have more recently gone decades without Christmas snow, and in the past it was more hardship than dream
Bing Crosby may have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but it seems such nostalgia might end up becoming a thing of the past in the UK. Not only do records reveal that some parts of the UK have at times gone decades without a yuletide flurry, but experts say the chances of a white Christmas are becoming ever smaller as a result of the climate crisis.
According to the Met Office, a Christmas in the UK is white if even one snowflake is observed falling somewhere in the 24 hours of 25 December. Last year was, technically, a white Christmas in the UK, though none of the Met Office observation stations reported snow lying on the ground.
Continue reading...Dozens of flood warnings in place as Britain and Ireland hit by fifth named storm since September
The Met Office has issued yellow alerts for rain and wind across large swathes of the UK and the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, with dozens of flood warnings in place as the countries are battered by the fifth named storm since September.
As Storm Elin hits the UK and the Republic of Ireland, there are yellow alerts for wind covering Wales, the Midlands and parts of Northern Ireland and the north-west and south-west of England. Yellow alerts for rain are in place in the north-west of England and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...Yellow warning in place for ice across north of England and snow warnings for parts of Scotland, Wales and Peak District
Drivers have been warned they face “very treacherous” icy conditions in parts of the UK on Monday after another night of sub-zero temperatures.
A yellow weather warning for ice by the Met Office is in place across much of the north of England until noon on Monday, with further warnings for snow covering eastern Scotland, high ground in Wales and the Peak District until the same time.
Continue reading...Drivers urged not to make unnecessary journeys as cars stuck in traffic and some roads impassable
Cumbria police have declared a major incident and warned against unnecessary journeys after heavy snowfall on the county’s roads, as freezing conditions hit the UK.
Police said a “multi-agency response” is under way, with reports of cars stuck in traffic and some roads in the South Lakes area impassable due to the snow.
Continue reading...Yellow weather warning for snow and ice across eastern coast and amber cold health alerts issued in five regions
Parts of the UK could have 5cm of snow on Friday with temperatures expected to drop as low as -10C in some areas.
A yellow weather warning for snow and ice remains in place for the eastern coast of the UK, stretching from Scotland to East Anglia. Ice warnings remain in place for Northern Ireland and south-west England.
Continue reading...Forecasters issue yellow warnings for entire island and stronger warning of ‘severe and damaging gusts’ for 18 Irish counties
Weather warnings have been issued for the entire island of Ireland as forecasters said Storm Debi would bring a new spell of heavy rain and strong winds. Parts of the island are still recovering from
floods during intense spells of rain in the preceding storms, Babet and Ciarán.
Continue reading...Met Office issues yellow weather alert as heavy rain forecast to fall on already saturated ground
Heavy rain is forecast across south and south-west of England, with 38 flood warnings and 160 flooding alerts in place days after Storm Ciarán hit the UK.
Although Storm Ciarán has largely eased, the Met Office issued a yellow weather notice on Saturday to last until 11.59pm, stretching from Kent to Cornwall.
Continue reading...Teacher now travelling by boat to educate children at two different school sites on either side of impasse
Businesses in a remote peninsula of Scotland are fighting to survive and children are unable to attend their local school nearly a month after record-breaking rainfall caused a severe landslip, which cut off a vital road link to the wider peninsula.
The Craignish peninsula in Argyll was battered by heavy rain in early October, causing a landslip on the A816 near Ardfern which left 6,000 tonnes of debris covering the road and rendered it impassable.
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Here is a map of the risks in France.
Météo-France, the French national meteorological service, is warning about very strong winds.
Continue reading...Amber warnings in place for wind across southern England with north Wales forecast to receive most rain
Winds of more than 70mph and heavy rain have hit parts of south-west and southern England as Storm Ciarán began to disrupt parts of the UK.
Hundreds of schools were shut, roads closed, flights and bus and rail routes affected, with “danger to life” amber warnings in place for wind across southern England.
Continue reading...Large waves and winds of up to 85mph forecast for England’s south coast with rain warnings in place and trains slowed or cancelled
Storm Ciarán is forecast to bring a fresh bout of strong winds and heavy rain to the UK – with “danger to life” amber weather warnings issued for Thursday.
Two amber warnings, the second-highest level of alert, are in place for parts of the south coast of England on Thursday, with further yellow rain warnings, the lowest level, meaning some disruption could be on the way.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Hundreds of ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ defences are in areas battered by Storm Babet, according to analysis by Unearthed
More than 4,000 of England’s vital flood defences are so damaged they are almost useless, including hundreds in areas battered by Storm Babet.
Nearly 800 critical assets – defined as those where there is a high risk to life and property – were in a “poor” or “very poor” condition in the 10 English counties worst affected by last week’s historic downpours.
Continue reading...Police name Cheryl Woods, 61, and Sarha Smith, 40, from south Wales, and Peter Pelling, 61, from Scotland
Tributes have been paid to three people killed in two separate weather-related incidents on Friday at the height of Storm Babet, as new weather warnings were issued on Tuesday.
Yellow weather warnings were put in place for parts of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the south-east of England on Tuesday, with the expectation of heavy rain in some areas that are already flooded.
Continue reading...Paul Gilbert says people in flood-prone areas are forgotten, after death of Maureen Gilbert, 83, in Storm Babet
A man who found his mother’s lifeless body floating in flood water triggered by Storm Babet inher Chesterfield home has spoken of his anger that people in flood-prone areas are being “forgotten”.
It is thought that Maureen Gilbert, 83, drowned after she was unable to escape the rapidly rising water inside her terrace home owing to mobility problems.
Continue reading...Major cleanup operations get under way in worst-hit areas after storm that left four people dead
Fresh danger-to-life flood warnings have been issued as water levels continued to rise in the wake of Storm Babet, while cleanup operations got under way in some of the worst-hit areas.
All weather warnings triggered by the storm had expired on Sunday morning, with drier and brighter weather forecast, but flooding was expected to last for days and two severe flood warnings, signalling danger to life, were later issued for Retford in Nottinghamshire.
Continue reading...Warnings from both the Met Office and the Environment Agency come as storm continues to batter the UK
In North Wales, a sheepdog named Patsy rescued three ewes which had been cut off by floodwater on Friday afternoon.
Farmer Llyr Derwydd, 44, went to check on his sheep in Flintshire when he saw the sheep “stranded on this little spot on the field”.
So we thought we’d better get them off and make sure they’re safe.
I just thought, ‘I’ll see if the dog will go’. I gave her the command and she swam across.
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