London is braced for another windy night with the Met Office maintaining yellow warnings due to Storm Darragh - with two having now died as a result of adverse weather across the UK.
Devastating gusts of up to 93mph were recorded on Saturday, leading to hundreds of flights being cancelled from the capital’s airports and the Winter Wonderland closing. Royal Parks, Brompton Cemetery and Victoria Tower Gardens were also all closed.
While the yellow warning is still set to be in place for winds in the capital into Sunday, the Met Office has now taken away the most severe red warning which had been issued.
It comes at the end of a disruptive and damaging day of gusty weather across the UK, which saw a major incident being declared in Wales and thousands left without electricity. Many trains were cancelled and sports fixtures, including the Merseyside derby, were postponed.
In Lancashire, a man died after a tree fell on his van as a result of Darragh.
Detective Sgt Matt Davidson, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: “Very sadly this incident has resulted in the death of a man and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.”
Later on Saturday, it was confirmed that a second man died in Birmingham area - also after a tree fell on the road.
The Government’s “risk to life” alert came into effect at 1am on Saturday and was sent to people within the area covered by the Met Office’s rare red warning for wind in parts of Wales and south-west England.
Speaking to Sky News, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the storm as a “challenging situation”.
He added: “About three million homes will have had the emergency alert system on their mobile phone. I would just encourage anyone who has had that to follow the advice.
“Where you can, stay inside, don’t put yourself at risk, and just follow the advice at all times.”
The weather warning is set to last until Monday for London.
The Met Office has forecast for Sunday: “A cloudy and wet day, with further periods of rain punctuated by some heavier bursts. Perhaps some drier spells developing later. Widespread strong winds only very slowly easing.”
The outlook for Monday to Wednesday added: “Still breezy with a few showers Monday and perhaps early Tuesday, but gradually giving way to drier, brighter, less windy conditions midweek, with overnight fog and frost becoming more prevalent.”
