UK weather: Britain faces more wind and rain on Thursday after being battered by storm
15 January 2020, 12:09
Britain is set to be battered by wind and rain again on Thursday, despite the bad weather easing off briefly today.
Swathes of the UK were flooded yesterday and strong winds wreaked havoc, with roofs torn from buildings and scaffolding collapsing.
Shoppers in Slough miraculously escaped when a huge metal structure crashed onto the high street after being blown from a nearby building.
Gusts of up to 78mph were recorded in parts of the country, with the highest wind measured at the Needles on the Isle of Wight.
Part of the roof at Ravenscourt Park Tube station, in west London, was also blown off, landing on the tracks and causing services to be suspended.
Transport for London (TfL) said there was no service between Earl's Court and Ealing Broadway and Richmond due to the “obstruction on the track” just after 11pm.
#orpington #Bromley #scaffolding
— BK WASTE MANAGEMENT (@BKSKIPHIRE) January 14, 2020
Chelsfield Lane blocked. 10 story scaffold down. Will be closed until late tomorrow pic.twitter.com/KkI5xIkpr6
Scaffolding also collapsed from a ten-storey building in Orpington, south east London, overnight.
Capel Curig in Wales recorded gusts of 77mph, with windspeeds at South Uist on the Western Isles reaching 73mph.
The high winds forced airlines to divert flights scheduled to land at Gatwick Airport, while also causing disruption to ferries and railways.
Roof falling off at Ravenscourt Park nice #tube pic.twitter.com/l0eQAc2pDU
— Sam Rodriguez (@plasticscouser_) January 14, 2020
17 flood warnings remain in place, largely in the south west, after Libanus in the Brecon Beacons received the most rainfall, at 42.4mm.
The Met Office said the forecast for Wednesday is “drier and brighter,” but it will be wet and windy again tomorrow.
They added that the rain will be “clearing the southeast with winds easing.
“Elsewhere, there will be bright or sunny spells with showers in the west, and heavy at times in west Scotland with strong winds and a risk of hail and thunder,” they said in a five-day forecast.
Here is a look at the highest gusts recorded on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/bB1J2yW4fQ
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 14, 2020
Wednesday evening will be windier, with outbreaks of rain spreading to Northern Ireland and western Scotland by around dawn.
By Thursday, wind and rain will spread quickly across Northern Ireland and Scotland, before moving across England and Wales. It will be heaviest in the west with coastal gales.
Friday is set to be brighter but with showers, before temperatures drop over the weekend, with early frost creeping across part of the country.
