Storm Bert live updates: Man dies after tree falls on car as ‘worst weather yet to arrive’
Scores of flood alerts issued across UK as major rail routes and roads closed amid ‘avalanche risk’ in mountains
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Your support makes all the difference.A man has died in Hampshire after a tree fell on a car as Storm Bert brings power cuts, heavy snow and high winds to the UK.
Hampshire Police said it was called just before 8am this morning to the southbound carriageway between Kings Worthy and Winnall and found the driver of a black Mercedes E350 dead at the scene.
Two severe amber weather alerts were issued in parts of Scotland and England on Saturday morning, with up to 40cm of snow expected to fall in higher areas during a two to four-hour burst in which it will fall “thick and fast” ahead of a “rapid thaw” expected to cause localised flooding, the Met Office said.
With some rural communities expected to be cut off and 4,000 households in England and Wales left without power, the forecaster has urged people to keep a phone charger, torch and batteries at hand, while rail and road travel authorities urged caution and closed several major routes on Saturday.
The worst of the weather, however, is still on its way, according to UK power network chiefs.
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.”
Storm Bert map: When and where UK will be hit by 70mph winds and rain after Met Office issue weather warning
Holidaymakers at Newcastle airport face delays as runway ‘decimated’ by snow
Every storm name for 2024/25 revealed as Met Office confirm Storm Bert to hit UK this weekend
How to stay safe during Storm Bert
Clean-up begins in Ireland after Storm Bert as thousands still left without power
Clean-up operations are under way after Storm Bert swept across the island of Ireland, causing flooding and thousands of power outages.
Power cuts affected 60,000 customers at the height of the outage; ESB teams are still working to restore supplies to the thousands still left without electricity.
Status red rain warnings were in place for Cork and Galway until 10am on Saturday, with an orange alert for rain in place for counties Waterford, Kerry, Clare, Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim.
Read more here:
Clean-up begins after Storm Bert as thousands still left without power
‘You can’t miss a day’s trade. I think that’s what’s going to really hurt us,’ one Cork business owner said.
Every storm name for 2024/25 revealed
The Met Office has already confirmed the storm names to be used across 2024 and 2025 - as the UK is battered by Storm Bert.
The new storms list – first launched in 2015 – for each year generally runs from early September until late August the following year, coinciding with the beginning of autumn.
James, Lewis and Mavis are all included in the new list in honour of figures from the Met Office’s 170-year history.
Read more details here:
Every storm name for 2024/25 revealed as Storm Bert hits UK
James, Lewis and Mavis are all included on the new list
How to stay safe during Storm Bert
As the Met Office issues a flurry of weather warnings over the weekend, what can we do to prepare and protect ourselves, and our homes, from these turbulent conditions?
Camilla Foster reports:
How to stay safe during Storm Bert
The majority of the UK will be facing at least one weather warning in the days to come
Pictured: Snow blankets Scottish city of Stirling
Where are flood warnings in force in Wales?
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.
NRW has issued flood warnings – where flooding is expected, and immediate action is required – on five stretches of river. It has also issued alerts – where flooding is possible – for more than 30 areas across Wales.
Warnings are in place around:
- River Loughor at Ammanford and Llandybie impacting low-lying property in Ammanford, Llandybie and Aberlash, including Carmarthenshire College
- River Severn, affecting the village of Aberbechan
- River Severn, affecting parts of the village of Abermule
- River Cothi in low lying areas between Pontargothi and Pontynyswen, including the Cothi Bridge Hotel
- River Towy, affecting isolated properties, as well as farms and roads, between Llandeilo and Abbergwili
Gusts of 82mph recorded in north Wales
The strongest gust recorded by the Met Office on Saturday afternoon was 82mph at Capel Curig in Conwy, north Wales, with winds of 70mph expected around coastal areas.
The Needles on the Isle of Wight saw gusts of 76mph, while winds reached 69mph at Devon’s Berry Head.
Holidaymakers at ‘decimated’ Newcastle Airport express surprise at intensity of snowfall
Holidaymakers at Newcastle International Airport said the runway was “decimated” by snow as Storm Bert batters the country with strong winds, heavy rain and snow and ice.
Frequent travellers Tim Harding, 53, and his wife, Chona, 58, were due to fly at 9.15am with Dutch airline KLM to Amsterdam from Newcastle before flying with Delta airlines to Orlando, Florida, to meet their family in the US for Thanksgiving.
Mr Harding said: “Going to the airport... it was sleeting all the way through then all of a sudden it started coming down.
“There were about four or five snow ploughs on the runway and they just couldn’t clear it. It was windy and it was literally coming down really quick, so hard. In the space of two hours, it went from nothing to decimated.
“The gritters were out continuously, the ploughs were out continuously, but it just wasn’t having an impact unfortunately. I was surprised how quickly it came down and how much came down in a two-hour period. I haven’t seen that for a long time.”
Met Office predicts heavy rain will develop overnight and into Sunday
The Met Office forecasts heavy rain developing overnight and into Sunday for south-west and southern England, stretching from Oxford to Truro.
There is a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-150mm of rainfall, the national weather service said.
A 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.
Storm Bert mapped: When and where UK will be hit by snow and winds
The Met Office has warned Brits to prepare for a weekend of rain, wind and snow as Storm Bert sweeps the country.
Read more in the article below on the various weather and flood warnings in place across the UK:
Storm Bert map: When and where UK will be hit by snow and wind
The majority of the UK will be facing at least one weather warning in the days to come
Homeowners facing flooding as Storm Bert batters Wales
Homeowners are facing flooding as Storm Bert continues to batter Wales, bringing rain, winds and rising waters.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued a series of flood warnings and alerts across the country, as bridges are shut and roads closed.
Five adults and five children had to be rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen in north Wales, following a landslide.
George Thompson reports:
Homeowners facing flooding as Storm Bert batters Wales
Five Flood warnings and more than 30 alerts have been issued across Welsh rivers by Natural Resources Wales.
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