Strong winds and rain battered large parts of the UK as Storm Isha took hold, with warnings of potentially life-threatening gusts and travel disruption expected into Monday.
Two amber wind alerts were put in place by the Met Office across the country on Sunday, while rail, sea and air travellers faced disruption, with closures, cancellations and delays across a number of services.
It also urged people to check the weather and advice from their local councils, as it warned of power cuts, flying debris, travel disruption, and dangerous conditions near the coast, with high waves expected.
The body that represents Britain’s energy networks warned of risks to homes and vital infrastructure. The Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “We’re expecting widespread gales to affect the UK, amber warnings are in place for large parts of the country.
“There’s the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down.”
He added: “We have a wind warning in place across the whole of the UK, it’s pretty unusual for the whole of the country to be under a blanket wind warning.”
The Met Office has said “everybody” will be affected by the storm. Winds of 79mph were recorded in Capel Curig, Wales, in the early afternoon of Sunday, with gusts of 80mph in coastal regions.
Two 12-hour amber wind warnings remain in place from 6pm on Sunday until Monday morning. One stretches across central, eastern and western England and all of Wales, only missing London and parts of the south-east. The other covers all of Scotland and northern England and Northern Ireland.
ScotRail ceased rail services early on Sunday and confirmed there would be no Monday morning rush-hour services. Network Rail said it had “taken the decision to close the network to all freight and passenger trains from 22.00 [on Sunday night] until Monday morning”.
Air traffic control restrictions are in place, leading to some flight cancellations. Nats, the UK’s national air traffic control services, told the PA news agency: “Due to adverse weather conditions across the UK, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place. Restrictions of this sort are only every applied to maintain safety.
“Our teams are working closely with airports and airlines to minimise disruption. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”
British Airways said: “Like other airlines, we have had to make schedule adjustments due to the adverse weather conditions across the UK and Europe caused by Storm Isha.
“We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible.”
National Highways issued amber severe weather alerts in the north-west, north-east, south-west and south-east of England, as well as the east and west Midlands from 6pm on Sunday until the early hours of Monday, and advised motorists to plan for disruption. There was a particularly high risk that high-sided vehicles and other vulnerable vehicles such as caravans and motorbikes could be blown over, it said.
Cold Arctic air that has given the UK sunny skies but freezing temperatures was subsiding, and being replaced by an Atlantic influence that would bring a return to milder conditions, but also bring wet and windy weather across the UK, said the Met Office.
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The storm would move away on Monday morning, developing into very strong winds in the far south-east of England, and the risk of 70-80mph gusts in the early hours, he said.
He said: “Storm Isha will bring a disruptive spell of weather to the UK with strong winds across the whole country. Heavy rain will cause additional hazards, particularly in the west. A number of severe weather warnings for rain have also been issued.
“Keep up to date with the Met Office warnings and pay close attention to guidance from your local authority.”
A spokesperson for Energy Networks Association, which represents Britain’s energy network operators, urged people to check in with those who might need extra help, and to share information with friends and family.
The Met Office said high winds would gradually ease through the day on Monday, while overnight into Tuesday would be calmer for most of the country, with lighter winds and fewer showers in the north.
But it warned that low pressure would bring further wet and windy weather from the west on Tuesday morning, which would spread eastwards across the UK throughout the day.
Later in the week, conditions are expected to ease in the south, with temperatures expected to remain mild for the time of year. Any wet and windy weather is expected to be more confined to the north-west of the UK.
