UK weather: Hurricane Nigel set to bring heavy rain

A white van is stranded in the flood while its windscreen wipers still work near Swansea
A white van is stranded in the flood while its windscreen wipers still work near Swansea - Dimitris Legakis/Athena Pictures

Commuters are facing major train disruptions after homes and roads were flooded overnight, with the UK set to be battered again later this week by remnants of Hurricane Nigel.

National Rail warned passengers should expect cancellations and delays up to an hour and a half for all lines between King’s Cross and Stevenage following damage to overhead power lines.

A person hit by a train between Reading and Paddington has also caused cancellations and hour-long delays for journeys between these two stations.

Great Western Railway said in an announcement: “Due to the emergency services dealing with an incident between Reading and London Paddington, the line is blocked. Train services running to and from these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 60 minutes.”

Heavy rain with the aftermath of Hurricane Lee caused roads to flood in Essex including the Ingatestone area
Heavy rain with the aftermath of Hurricane Lee caused roads to flood in Essex including the Ingatestone area - Stephen Huntley/HVC
A car got stuck in two feet of water in Essex
A car got stuck in two feet of water in Essex - Stephen Huntley/HVC

A National Rail statement said all lines between London Kings Cross / Moorgate and Stevenage, Hertfordshire are closed following “a number of incidents”.

“Trains may be cancelled, delayed by up to 90 minutes or revised. Major disruption is expected until 09:00.”

Disruption was also reported through Tulse Hill in Lambeth and Cheltenham Spa, as well as between Lewes and Wivelsfield in East Sussex and West Ealing and Greenford in west London.

More than 500 homes and businesses in Wales and the south-west of England suffered power cuts on Wednesday afternoon.

Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rain
Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for rain - George Cracknell Wright

Torrential downpours flooded homes in Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire in the south and the Llŷn peninsula in the north.

Photographs of flooding at the Mond Valley Golf Club in Clydach near Swansea showed a van transporting cleaning products nearly submerged under water.

The Met Office issued two severe yellow weather warnings and several flood alerts which are expected to last until Thursday morning.

Flooding had earlier affected rail lines at Burnham, Buckinghamshire and between Swansea and Llandrindod in Wales, with both incidents since cleared up.

Sunny spells are forecast for the east of England on Thursday morning, while some heavy and thundery showers could break out elsewhere throughout the day before easing in the evening.

Aidan McGivern, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “A band of rain will clear by the start of Thursday and that will be followed by sunny spells and showers with low pressure never too far away from the UK.”


10:50 AM BST

Hurricane Nigel set to arrive

The UK is bracing itself for the remnants of Hurricane Nigel which is expected to arrive this weekend.

Hurricane Nigel, a tropical Category 1 storm, with recorded wind speeds of 85mph, is making its way across the sea to Europe.

Meteorologists predict the storm will calm down over the next couple of days but is still expected to cause heavy rainfall and “unsettled weather”.