Closing summary
Tomorrow, the Met Office has issued a warning about ice for parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is also a yellow warning for rain covering south-west England on Thursday.
The Environment Agency said the River Otter at Fenny Bridges, close to Ottery St Mary, has reached its highest recorded level, surpassing the previous record set in December 2000. Levels reached 2.81m on 7 December that year but were at 2.83m at 5.45am on Tuesday, with a severe flood warning issued five minutes later due to predicted overtopping of flood defences.
The severe danger-to-life flood warning for the River Otter at Ottery St Mary has been lifted after the Environment Agency said water levels, which earlier reached a record high, have now fallen at the nearest monitoring point. Flood warnings remain in place for parts of the river, while a severe danger-to-life warning continues for the Upper Frome in Dorchester and more than 100 other flood warnings are still active elsewhere.
The wind, rain and warnings of worse to come prompted more than 300 schools and higher education providers in Northern Ireland to close on Tuesday. Belfast City and Belfast International airports cancelled dozens of flights and the ferry operator Stena Line cancelled some sailings between Belfast and Liverpool and other routes across the Irish Sea.
The poor weather is expected to continue into Wednesday morning, with the Met Office issuing a yellow-level warning for ice for all of Northern Ireland between 3am and 10am.
In the Republic of Ireland, ESB said around 20,000 homes, farms and businesses lost power as a result of the storm. Dublin Fire Brigade said it had responded to a number of flooding incidents in the city.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings of ice on Wednesday for large parts of the UK, including Northern Ireland, central Scotland, the Midlands, the east of England, London and the South East, the north of England and parts of Wales. “Patchy ice is likely to form on untreated surfaces by Wednesday morning and may lead to some disruption,” a Met Office spokesman said.
There have been six flood warnings issued by Natural Resources Wales. These warn flooding is expected along the Afon (River) Lwyd in Ponthir, Llanyrafon, Croesyceiliog and Pontnewynydd. Warnings are also in place for the River Monnow at Skenfrith and Osbaston, in south-east Wales.
Firefighters in Devon and Somerset rescued people from 25 vehicles in flood water on Tuesday morning. A spokesman for Devon + Somerset Fire + Rescue Service confirmed there were no casualties. Axminster Fire Station posted images of multiple vehicles in flood water on Facebook.
Ferry operator Stena Line cancelled numerous sailings on Tuesday morning because of “adverse weather”. These include between Belfast and Liverpool, between Belfast and Cairnryan in Scotland, between Dublin and Holyhead in North Wales, and between Fishguard in Pembrokeshire and Rosslare in Ireland.
Scottish regional airline Loganair cancelled at least 12 flights on Tuesday. The affected routes are between Manchester and both Newquay and the Isle of Man, between Liverpool John Lennon and the Isle of Man, and between Glasgow and Islay, Campbeltown and Tiree.
The severe danger-to-life flood warning for the River Otter at Ottery St Mary has been lifted after the Environment Agency said water levels, which earlier reached a record high, have now fallen at the nearest monitoring point.
Flood warnings remain in place for parts of the river, while a severe danger-to-life warning continues for the Upper Frome in Dorchester and more than 100 other flood warnings are still active elsewhere.
