Commuters face travel chaos as gale force winds batter the UK with Met Office map showing areas worst affected

18 December 2024, 09:04

Gale force winds risk causing travel chaos in parts of the UK this morning as the Met Office issues two yellow weather warnings.

The Met Office warned severe winds of up to 65mph could lead to road, rail, air and ferry delays across the UK on Wednesday.

One warning covers large parts of northern England, including Sheffield and Leeds - lasting from 3am to 2pm on Wednesday.

Forecasters said gusts of 50-60mph are possible and potentially higher in more exposed places.

A separate warning for northern and western Wales and parts of north-west England expires at 9am, with the Met Office expecting gusts of 45-55mph fairly widely.

Gusts of 65mph are possible in a few places, particularly along the coast.

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Motorists and commuters have been met with closed roads and train delays as the high winds batter the UK this morning.

The M48 Severn Bridge was closed in both directions due to strong winds with traffic being diverted via the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.

In south-east Wales, Gwent Police briefly closed the B4269 between Llanellen and Llanfoist early on Wednesday morning, with the road reopening at about 6.15am.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said its overnight ferry service from Heysham, Lancashire to Douglas, Isle of Man was cancelled, but remaining Wednesday services are expected to operate as normal.

The windy weather looks set to continue in the coming days, as the Met Office said: “The active jet stream will meander across the UK steering deeps areas of low pressure in our direction.”

These warnings come just days after Storm Darragh battered Britain with 95mph winds, killing two.

Rare red "danger to life" warning covered areas of the south west of England and Wales, with train lines and other services warning of severe delays.

The Met Office said that red warnings have only been announced 20 times in the UK since 2011 when first started recording them.

Elsewhere, images show widespread destruction, with Llandudno pier in North Wales facing the full brunt of Darragh as one of the huts along the pier was blown sideways.

Trees fell with winds of up to 93mph battering North Wales. Hundreds of flights were cancelled with others diverted from Heathrow to Germany.