Thread: 1 Dead As Britain Battered By 105 Mph Gales

The day it was so windy the waterfall ran uphill: Britain battered by 106mph gales which leave two dead - and there's more to come in the next 24 hours

• Winds of 106mph recorded in Pennines. Force 11 winds batter Channel
• Atlantic front hits UK with fierce winds and heavy rain
• Van driver, 50, killed by tree falling on his vehicle as gales cause havoc
• Sailor also dies after tanker in English Channel is hit by wave
• Extreme weather causes misery for millions heading back to work
• Roads closed and trains delayed by fallen trees
• Roof of grandstand blown off at Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey
• Trains affected as passengers are urged not to travel
  

By Chris Parsons, Gareth Finighan and Luke Salkeld

Last updated at 12:33 AM on 4th January 2012
Comments (240)


Winds of up to 106mph battered Britain yesterday, bringing death and destruction as many returned to work after the Christmas holidays.
A driver was killed when a tree fell on his van. The storm also claimed the life of a man on board a tanker which was hit by a huge wave in the Channel.
Barely a single area was spared the onslaught roaring in from the Atlantic, which toppled lorries and brought down power lines.
Scroll down for videos
Crushed: The driver of a single decker bus in Witley, Surrey, was badly injured when an oak tree came crashing down on the vehicle

Lucky to be alive: The driver was cut free from the wreckage by firefighters and rushed to hospital

Buildings were damaged, roads closed and trains, flights and ferries were cancelled.
The Met Office issued numerous severe weather warnings and emergency services urged motorists and pedestrians to stay indoors.
However, some had to be evacuated from their houses because of flooding.
Sleet and snow added to the problems in some parts, bringing a cold wake-up call to Britain in 2012 after an unusually mild festive season.


Peeled off: The roof of a lorry blown off in severe storms causes chaos on the M5 in Somerset




Upside down: Coastguard search and rescue had to attend a caravan park 300 miles from the Outer Hebrides when a home appeared to be flipped on to its roof near Dunoon in Argyll and Bute




Overturned: A lorry lies on its side after being blown over by high wind on the A66 in County Durham, as gusts of up to 85mph battered the country

Heavy damage: A large tree rests on three cars after being blown over in Havant, Hampshire

Tragedy: Emergency services at the scene in Tunbridge Wells where a 50-year-old van driver was killed when a tree fell on his vehicle in high winds










Flooded engine: A car lies partially submerged in the River Chew, Somerset. Emergency services had to rescue a woman from the car as it became trapped in floodwaters

Water sight: In the valley of High Cup Nick, Cumbria, gale force winds blew water from a waterfall upwards into the sky

A Met Office spokesman said last night: ‘An intense Atlantic storm passed over the UK bringing some very strong winds with it.
‘We do expect stormy conditions at this time of year, but the strength of this one was unusual.’
The driver who died was a man in his 50s whose identity has not been revealed.
A 3ft-diameter tree trunk smashed on to his van in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.


Whose idea was it to go for walkies? This Tibetan Terrier braves the wind in the seaside resort of Scarborough, North Yorkshire


Over and out: These two lorries ended up on their sides after being hit by high winds


Devastated: In Belfast, Billy McCullough and his son Adam survey their flattened car

Numerous roads near rivers and the coast were shut after flood alerts, with the Environment Agency issuing 21 river alerts in the South West alone.
Waves hit massive heights around the coast and Portland Coastguard in Dorset, where 45ft breakers rolled in, warned people to keep their distance today.
A spokesman said: ‘Often people like to walk along harbour walls or go on the beach to see the waves, but they really do need to keep well clear – it is very dangerous.’

On a wing and a prayer: A passenger jet gets blown of course while attempting to land in gale force winds at England's highest airport, Leeds Bradford International


Stranded: Passengers at Heathrow Airport wait for news of their flights, which were disrupted by the weather


The Norman Spirit ferry limps into Dover, Kent, as fierce storms batter Britain, with heavy rain and winds gusting up to 85mph

Sailing training yacht Liquid Vortex and its amateur crew of seven had to be rescued off the coast of Kent when it was battered by violent winds of up to storm force 11




Danger zone: This tree came crashing down on a street in Glasgow, as parts of Scotland were placed on red alert with 100mph winds and heavy rain lashing the region







Clinging on: An elderly lady holds on to a lamp post in the face of strong winds in South Shields. Right, a woman braves the elements in Westminster, London




Workers rushed to Epsom Downs Racecourse after part of the roof on the grandstand was blown off during strong winds

Making waves: Surf crashes over the harbour wall in Dover, Kent, as wind speeds topped 90mph in parts of the country

Wet warning: A young girl is drenched in rain water from a passing car in Shepton Mallett, Somerset, as heavy winds began to take their toll

Worst hit was Scotland’s central belt, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, where winds of up to 102mph forced the closure of main road and rail bridges and the cancellation of flights and train services.
At one stage 60,000 homes were without power.

The East Coast train company halted virtually all its services north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Winds of 106mph were recorded at Great Dun Fell in the north Pennines.

WEATHER CAUSES ROAD AND RAIL CHAOS

Britain's roads and rail services took the brunt of the windy start to the year as transport delays were reported across the nation.

In Buckinghamshire, the A40 at Gerrards Cross was blocked after a tree hit a car.

Trees were also felled during strong winds at Riseley in North Beds and Shooters Hill, Hemel Hempstead.

The A628 around Woodhead Pass in the Peak District was closed in both directions to all traffic due to wind speeds gusting between 60mph and 80mph, according to the Highways Agency.

The A66 between the A1(M) and the M6 is also closed to high-sided vehicles.

In London, it was reported that trees falling around Barons Court, West London, caused delays on the Underground.

The QEII bridge, carrying the M25 over the River Thames at Dartford, was closed and traffic was being diverted to the Dartford Tunnel.

The A342 at Dunkirk Hill Devizes, Wiltshire, was closed because of a fallen tree which brought down high voltage power lines, blacking out dozens of homes and business.

And the A433 near Kemble Airfield in Gloucestershire was blocked following a crash on the storm-lashed road involving a car and lorry.


Around 1,500 homes in Steeton, near Keighley, West Yorkshire, were without gas after equipment was damaged by high winds.
At Epsom racecourse in Surrey, part of a grandstand was blown away.

The port of Dover was shut all morning and ferry services to and from the Isle of Wight were cancelled.

A man had to be rescued after he got into difficulties as he rowed in his dinghy to reach his yacht in 'appalling weather conditions' in Portsmouth Harbour.

A Coastguard rescue helicopter was scrambled along with a MoD police launch and a police rib (rigid inflatable boat).

The man was found suffering from hypothermia on a mud flat next to his upturned dinghy.

Drivers in Bristol also experienced travel havoc after strong wind and rain brought down trees and caused flooding.

Fire-fighters rushed to the rescue of a woman in her 40s after she drove through a flooded ford in her Vauxhall Nova this afternoon.

The woman - who cannot swim - was left terrified when her car was swept away in two feet deep water and into a tree in Chew Stoke, Somerset.

Luckily, two members of staff from the Environment Agency were in the area at the time and waded into the water to pull out the woman, who was not injured.

In Gloucestershire, police recorded a total of 24 weather related incidents between midnight and 10.45am this morning.

The storm-force conditions also caused havoc for those who were not even going anywhere.

Five people were injured when high winds overturned caravans this morning at the Stratheck caravan park in Dunoon in Argyll and Bute.

Three were airlifted to the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley for treatment after the incident.

'Heavy rain will also affect many regions, with a risk of localised flooding.'

A waterfall appeared to defy gravity when, instead of gushing down, it flowed upwards towards the skies.

Enlarge
The image was captured close to Great Dun Fell in the Pennines where a windspeed of 106mph was recorded.

East Coast trains said it was 'very unlikely ' that any services would operate north of Newcastle for the rest of the day.

Edinburgh Waverley station was closed for safety reasons and engineers were assessing the building during the afternoon.

Elsewhere in Scotland, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said they had attended 488 incidents by 1pm, and had received 572 calls.

A spokesman said most of the calls were in connection with fallen trees and damaged buildings.

They also said there were reports of flying bus shelters and a number of garden sheds.

Fife Constabulary said they had been at more than 100 separate incidents relating to the high winds and rain.

The winds across the central belt of the country eased off during the afternoon.

Edinburgh airport lifted restrictions on incoming flights but departures were still subject to disruption.

Buses had to replace trains on some East Coast services between London and Harrogate and Hull.

The Association of British Insurers said storm damage would be covered by home and business property policies, and comprehensive motor insurance would cover damage caused to vehicles.

Weathermen are expecting the windy weather to continue for a few days but say it will be drier by the weekend.

A cyclist tries to cycle through the floodwater at the promenade in Ayr despite the high winds and heavy rains...


...and then he picks himself up after being blown off his bicycle into the floodwater on the promenade at Ayr


Crushed: This house, which featured in the Grand Designs Channel 4 television programme, was damaged by gale force winds in Kilcreggan, Scotland




Battered: Agnes McCallum surveys the damage to her house caused by high winds in Rutherglen, Scotland. Right, a walker braves the elements in Plymouth city centre today
Making a splash: A hatchback car drives through a flooded section of Brynmill Lane in Swansea, south Wales early this morning

When the boat comes in: This worker was left bemused after strong winds off Chesil Beach, Dorset, swept a boat into a bus stop



Paying the price: In Southampton, bricks rained down on a public pavement today as a shop frontage collapsed in the face of extreme winds

A waterfall appeared to defy gravity when, instead of gushing down, it flowed upwards towards the skies.

The image was captured close to Great Dun Fell in the Pennines where a windspeed of 106mph was recorded earlier today.

East Coast trains said it was 'very unlikely ' that any services would operate north of Newcastle for the rest of the day.

Edinburgh Waverley station was closed for safety reasons and engineers will assess the building this afternoon.

Elsewhere in Scotland, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said they had attended 488 incidents by 1pm today, and had received 572 calls.

A spokesman said most of the calls were in connection with fallen trees and damaged buildings.

They also said there were reports of flying bus shelters and a number of garden sheds.

Fife Constabulary said they had been at more than 100 separate incidents relating to the high winds and rain.

The winds across the central belt of the country eased off this afternoon.

Edinburgh airport lifted restrictions on incoming flights but departures were still subject to disruption.

Buses had to replace trains on some East Coast services between London and Harrogate and Hull.


Taking cover: A woman hides under an umbrella as she walks through pouring rain in London


Storm-force: Walkers braving the driving wind and rain on Brighton seafront assess the damage done to a beach hut

The Met Office today issued a severe weather warning for the whole of the Westcountry from 3am to 6pm on Tuesday.

The weather warning, the lowest of three on the Met Office system, urges people to 'be aware' with travel disruption likely.

Brave or stupid? Inigo Eceizabarrena, 37, didn't let the inclement weather spoil his daily swim when he took a dip in storm-lashed Bournemouth with waves crashing around him

Meanwhile Britain's biggest port, Felixstowe, is expected to remain closed for the rest of the day as lethal storms rage across the North Sea.

Officials at the Port of Felixstowe advised truckers not to travel to the container terminal and all bookings have been cancelled.

They said the howling storms made it unsafe to operate the quayside's huge ship-to-shore cranes which hoist containers the size of small lorries.

Sport was also affected, as a race meeting was today abandoned over safety concerns as storm force winds battered Ayr racecourse, Ayrshire.

The Scottish race meet was initially given the go-ahead after an early morning inspection but high winds took their toll in the hours that followed.

Part of the roof at Epsom Racecourse was also blown off due to high winds.

In Wales, twelve people were evacuated from five homes in Dolgellau, Gwynedd, early today after a short circuit in an external electrical box.

Police across the country urged motorists to drive with extra care and avoid uncecessary journeys.

A spokesman for Cumbria Police said gusts of 70mph have hit the region, with a number of reported incidents.

In the capital, a tree on the line at Bellingham in south east London meant trains between Bromley South and London via Bellingham had to be diverted via Herne Hill.



Drive safe: Matrix signs on the M60 ring road around Manchester advise motorists to slow down as high winds made driving conditions difficult





Problems: A man in a waterproof poncho stands in pouring rain in London today, while right, the information board at Glasgow Central Rail Station informs passengers of rail delays

TODAY WORST FOR YEARLY BLUES

If you've got a bad case of the January blues today, don't despair - you're not alone.

Today will be one of the year's most depressing days, experts have said.

Worries about the state of our society as 2012 begins appear to be damaging the British capacity for staunch optimism.

Money, crime and even a return to street riots have all affected our mood, according to a survey of more than 13,000 people.

Jon Cousins, founder of the depression-fighting website Moodscope.com, revealed in the Daily Express: 'On the face of it, discovering that today is one of the year’s gloomiest could be seen as yet more bad news, but we like to think that forewarned is forearmed.

'See it like a weather forecast. If you knew it was going to be cold and wet, you’d take a coat and umbrella when you went out.

Estimates have placed the year's most depressing day at various different points around this time, with some putting it in February last year and others naming January 17 as 'Blue Monday'.

Dozens of commuters in the south east had a lucky escape when their passenger train struck a huge tree which had fallen across the line during the storms today.

The First Great Western train from Basingstoke to Reading could not stop in time and smashed into the tree just after 6.30am near the Berkshire village of Mortimer.

Network Rail said no-one was injured but the line was blocked.

The severe weather was having a big effect on rail services in Scotland.

In the Glasgow area, buses were replacing trains between Helensburgh Central and Dumbarton Central, while trains between Dalmuir and Hyndland via Singer were being diverted via Yoker.
Public transport on the roads also suffered.

A bus driver had to be freed after a large tree fell on his vehicle, trapping him inside in Witley, Surrey.

The single-decker Stagecoach bus was in Petworth Road when the oak tree, measuring 6ft across, fell on to it at about 8.25am.

Avon and Somerset Police said they had 24 weather-related incidents between midnight and 10.45am, 19 of them relating to trees that had been blown over on to roads.

Up to 2,000 homes across Cumbria - including about 400 in Allonby - were left without power overnight, said Electricity North West.

The supplier said power has since been restored to the affected addresses.

The Met Office has warned that the weather will stay windy and wet into tomorrow 'so it will be a pretty unpleasant start to the year.’

A graph posted from the official Twitter account of the Forth Road Bridge in Queensferry, Scotland, showed how average wind speeds today were literally off the charts in the morning


The Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh was just one part of the UK to battle through high winds and storms today (file picture)


Temperatures peaked at 15C (59F) on New Year’s Eve, ending a year which has been the warmest apart from 2006.

The average temperature over last year was 9.62C (49.3F) and the UK enjoyed its warmest April and spring on record, the second warmest autumn and the warmest October day.

Temperatures reached as high as 33.1C (91.5F) at Gravesend in Kent on June 27.

Weather experts predict a marked drop in temperature, with the unusually mild conditions over Christmas and the New Year making way for more seasonal mercury readings.

Despite the milder conditions over Christmas, average temperatures for last month are likely to be close to average.

John Prior, national climate manager at the Met Office, said: ‘While it may have felt mild for many so far this December, temperatures overall have been close to what we would expect.

‘It may be that the stark change from last year, which was the coldest December on record for the UK, has led many to think it has been unseasonably warm.’


Stormy scene: Waves crash over the sea front in Southsea, Hampshire, as motorists were urged to take extra care and bridges were closed


All at sea: A pilot boat returning to Portsmouth battles through high waves and fierce storms as gusts topped 85mph this morning

On the whole, Britain saw 105 per cent of the expected sunshine in 2011 and 102.8 per cent of the expected rainfall.
But while Scotland saw heavy rain - 122 per cent of the year's average - England remained drier at 84.3 per cent.
Areas in East Anglia had the second lowest rainfall on record while parts of the Midlands saw the third driest year.

Video at the link

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2081141/UK-severe-weather-warning-Britain-battered-105mph-gales-leave-2-dead.html