Storms Elin and Fergus causing fresh traffic chaos as Somerset battles flooding
Storms Elin and Fergus are set to blow across the country today and bring further chaos after a wet and windy week. The Met Office has warned of 70mph winds and flooding, with western areas expected to be subjected to more gusty winds and rainfall, especially on Sunday evening (December 10).
Although Ireland is expected to bear the brunt of the storms[1], the West Country will lie in their paths, with the rain coming in from the west and becoming particularly heavy across England and Wales. Some areas will see more than 32mm of rainfall in an hour, although most of the West Country will receive between 0.5 and 16mm per hour.
The Met Office could introduce more weather warnings today, The Sun[2] reports. It comes after a yellow warning of wind was issued for much of the country, including pockets of the South West, yesterday, partially closing the M48 Severn Bridge as Christmas shoppers scrambled to finish buying presents.
Storm Fergus will sweep eastwards across the country this evening, bringing with it a risk of hail and thunder, according to the Met Office. It was originally named by Met Eireann, the Irish Met Office.
The strongest winds are likely to hit south Wales and areas around the Bristol Channel. Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge told The Sun[5]: “Strong winds will hit the south west of the Republic of Ireland before the storm makes its way further east tomorrow evening.
Drone image of the mass flooding of Primrose Hill Residential Park in Charlton Adam, Somerset earlier this week (Image: Daniel Jae Webb/SWNS)
“There will be some further spells of heavy rain, particularly in Wales and the north of England. There could be strong localised gales, especially in south Wales.
“There’s a chance we’ll issue a weather warning, but we’re still monitoring. We’ll hopefully see a dryer and more settled second half to next week.”
As a result of the bad weather, there may be delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport, and coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities may be affected by spray and large waves.
Yesterday saw Storm Elin bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK and Ireland, with 38 flood warnings issued across England on Saturday by the Environment Agency. According to the Met Office, the unsettled weather could continue into the start of the next week.
Click here[6] for more weather news from SomersetLive.
References
- ^ storms (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ The Sun (www.thesun.co.uk)
- ^ Man hit with £100 fine for ‘crossing road to get cash out’ at West Country car park (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ Full list of Somerset road closures, flood alerts and warnings for Sunday, December 10 (www.somersetlive.co.uk)
- ^ The Sun (www.thesun.co.uk)
- ^ Click here (www.somersetlive.co.uk)