Closing summary
Storm Bert, described as a “multiple hazard event” by the Met Office, has brought snow, ice, strong winds and rain to the UK, causing travel disruption, power cuts and flooding. UK power officials have warned that the worst of Storm Bert is still to come.
While our liveblog on Storm Bert will be closing shortly, you can get our latest news stories on the UK weather here. These are the key events and alerts covered in the blog today:
Tens of thousands of homes have been without power, with 4,000 homes affected in the Midlands, south-west England and south Wales and 27,000 customers affected in the north-east, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire. While in Ireland, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) said that high winds had caused power outages for 60,000 customers, with the worst affected counties including Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Cavan, Monaghan, Kerry and Cork.
Flights were disrupted at Newcastle airport as heavy snow hit the north-east overnight and into Saturday morning. Some arrivals were diverted to Belfast and Edinburgh while the airport’s snow team tried to minimise disruption.
Scots are being urged not to travel “unless absolutely necessary”. Forecasters have predicted as much as 40cm of snow on high grounds in Scotland. Emergency services closed junctions 13 and 14 of the M74 following a crash at around 7am. Traffic Scotland has warned of “extremely poor driving conditions” in the area.
The Met Office issued an amber warning for snow and ice for parts of Scotland and northern England, with a “good chance some rural communities could be cut off”. Amber warnings mean there is the potential for risk to life and property.
The strongest gust so far during Storm Bert was 82mph recorded in Capel Curig, north Wales, according to the Met Office. The next highest on Saturday was 76mph in The Needles, off of the Isle of Wight, followed by 69mph in Berry Head, Devon.
National Highways issued a “severe weather alert” on Saturday for snow affecting Yorkshire and north-east England with “blizzard conditions” expected and up to five hours of heavy snow set to “accumulate quickly at all levels”. According to the Met Office, 13cm of snow fell in some parts of the UK on Saturday morning.
More than 100 flood alerts are in place across the UK. The Environment Agency (EA) has issued more than a dozen red warnings meaning flooding is expected in the north-west of England, including for the M61 between Manchester and Preston.
The Met Office forecasts heavy rain developing overnight and into Sunday for south-west and southern England, stretching from Oxford to Truro. The yellow warning is in place from 6am on Saturday until 11.45pm on Sunday and up to 70mm of rain could fall during this time. There is a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-150mm of rainfall, the national weather service said.
Strong winds are set to cause “dangerous coastal conditions”, the Met Office said, and a yellow wind warning is in place until 9pm on Sunday for southern England and parts of Wales.
A man in his 60s has died after a tree fell on a car on the A34 near Winchester, Hampshire police said. It is unclear if the incident was related to Storm Bert but the cause is under investigation. The force was called at 7.47am to the southbound carriageway between Kings Worthy and Winnall and found the driver of a black Mercedes E350 dead at the scene.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued a series of flood warnings and alerts across the country, as bridges are shut and roads closed. Over the weekend, Wales is expected to face up to 75mm of rain widely, with 150 mm possible in some areas. Gusts of 70mph are expected to hit coastal areas.
A yellow alert for wind and rain warnings was in place for most counties in Ireland until midday on Saturday, but another status yellow warning will kick in from 5pm until 2am on Sunday for six counties: Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and Wicklow. Bridge Street in Killybegs, County Donegal, has been badly flooded after the storm and flooding incidents have also been reported in Galway, Limerick and Cork.
In Northern Ireland, a yellow alert for rain and snow was in place across the region from midnight until 11am on Saturday, while a wind warning is in place until Saturday evening. Police urged motorists to take extra care on a number of roads in the Newtownards area because of the impact of poor weather conditions on Saturday. It said that a fallen tree on the Belfast Road and on the Springvale Road, between Ballyhalbert and Ballywalter, had blocked both lanes.
Queensferry Crossing across the Firth of Forth in Scotland has been closed as a safety precaution due to Storm Bert. The decision to close the crossing at 10.20am on Saturday was made after ice was observed falling from the bridge’s stay cables above the carriageway. Lothian Buses, one of Scotland’s biggest bus firms paused its services due to the impact of the storm, while numerous train services were cancelled or delayed.
Ferry operator DFDS cancelled services on some routes until Monday with sailings from Newhaven to Dieppe and Dover to Calais being severely affected.
The M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire is closed in both directions between J1 and J2 due to strong winds and National Highways has advised motorists to use the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.
Avanti West Coast, which runs the west coast mainline services, has cancelled its services north of Preston all day.
UK Power Networks, the operator for the east and south-east of England, has warned people to stay away from overhead power lines amid the gusts.
Storm Bert wreaked havoc on the domestic football calendar with Blackburn’s Championship clash against Portsmouth one of a number of games called off.
Updated
Tens of thousands of homes without power across England and Wales
Tens of thousands of homes have been without power, with 4,000 homes affected in the Midlands, south-west England and south Wales and 27,000 customers affected in the north-east, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, reports the PA news agency.
Ross Easton, of Energy Networks Association (ENA) – which represents the UK’s power network operators, said:
There are a few localised weather-related power cuts in parts of Britain this morning. However, for most parts of the country the severe weather hasn’t yet had a significant impact.
Forecasters are describing this as a ‘multi-hazard event’ with the worst of the weather yet to arrive, and so our members have extra engineers and contact centre teams available, and control rooms are monitoring the storm closely as it develops.”
More than 100 flood alerts are in place across the UK. The Environment Agency (EA) has issued more than a dozen red warnings meaning flooding is expected in the north-west of England, including for the M61 between Manchester and Preston.
The Met Office forecasts heavy rain developing overnight and into Sunday for south-west and southern England, stretching from Oxford to Truro. The yellow warning is in place from 6am on Saturday until 11.45pm on Sunday and up to 70mm of rain could fall during this time.
There is a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-150mm of rainfall, the national weather service said.
Strong winds are set to cause “dangerous coastal conditions”, the Met Office said, and a yellow wind warning is in place until 9pm on Sunday for southern England and parts of Wales.
