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Britain battered by 80mph winds as weekend weather warning issued

David Harding
·Contributor
The weather warning about high winds, such as seen here in Tynemouth earlier this year, will remain in place on Saturday (PA)
The weather warning about high winds, such as seen here in Tynemouth earlier this year, will remain in place on Saturday (PA)

Gusts approaching 80mph have hit England and Wales with weather warnings for further strong winds set to come into force for the weekend.

A yellow warning for wind has been issued by the Met Office for most of the UK on Friday and Saturday, meaning delays are likely to road, rail, air and ferry travel.

Tall vehicles travelling on exposed roads and bridges should also expect to be delayed by the weather, according to forecasters.

It follows a warning last week about snowy and freezing conditions across Britain.

The windy conditions follow snow and freezing temperatures earlier this month (PA)
The windy conditions follow snow and freezing temperatures earlier this month (PA)

Met Office meteorologist Mark Wilson said: ‘Through Friday and Saturday there are going to be some more strong winds and heavy rain.’

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at the Dartford Crossing, a major commuter route across the River Thames, was closed for around three hours on Thursday morning due to unsafe wind speeds, Highways England said.

Essex Police warned motorists to expect long delays on roads in the area.

The Met Office has issued weather warnings (PA)
The Met Office has issued weather warnings (PA)

The most affected parts are expected to be Wales and southern and central parts of England, with a warning there could be possible disruption to road and rail routes.

Overnight, winds hit as high as 79mph in parts of central southern England and almost 70mph off the coast of Cornwall.

Almost 300 homes in Cornwall lost power due to the bad weather while others in the area experienced short outages of three minutes or less, Western Power Distribution said.

It is not the first time this winter there has been a warning about disruption from high winds.

Britain has so far not suffered as bad a winter as last year when it was hiot by the so-called ‘Beast from the East’.
Britain has so far not suffered as bad a winter as last year when it was hiot by the so-called ‘Beast from the East’.

Elsewhere, a 76mph gust was measured on Thursday morning in Capel Curig, north Wales, as well as a 67mph gust in Aberdaron on the country’s west coast.

In the south east of England, 54mph winds were measured in Langdon Bay in Kent and gusts of 52mph in Thorney Island, West Sussex.

The strongest wind measured by the Met Office overnight was 79mph on the Isle of Wight.

Winds are expected to ease off later on Thursday but return at the weekend.

Mr Wilson said: “There is going to be a wet and windy feel this morning but through the rest of the day winds will ease a little bit.

“There will be a mixture of sunshine and showers, with the showers mainly in the west.”

The yellow weather warning runs from 12pm on Friday to 6pm on Saturday.

‘Winds will gradually ease on Saturday, with the strongest winds becoming confined to Scotland on Saturday afternoon,’ said the Met Office.

‘These winds will lead to large waves affecting coasts and the possibility of waves topping some coastal routes, especially in the west and south of the warning area.

‘In addition, bands of heavy rain sweeping eastwards on Friday in particular will present an additional hazard.’