UK weather: high winds to batter coasts of Wales and southern England

New Year’s Eve revellers told to prepare for near-freezing conditions as parts of UK recover from Storm Gerrit

Gusts of up to 75mph (120km/h) are expected to batter the coasts of southern England and Wales this weekend as other parts of the UK continue to recover from the ravages of Storm Gerrit.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for high winds in the south-east, south-west, East Anglia and Wales from 11am on Saturday until 3am on Sunday, New Year’s Eve.

Separate yellow warnings were issued for sleet and snow in Scotland and rain in Northern Ireland on Saturday.

New Year’s Eve revellers have been urged to wrap up warm as conditions across many parts of the UK could feel close to freezing as clocks strike midnight.

Parts of the UK are still cleaning up after extreme weather wreaked havoc. Three men died when their 4x4 vehicle was submerged in a river in flood-hit North Yorkshire.

About 1,500 homes in Scotland experienced their second night without power and a lightning strike hit supplies in Wales on Thursday.

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said it had restored supply to more than 47,000 properties that lost power due to the storm, with people in the north-east and Shetland worst affected. They said “a final push” was being made on Friday to restore power to around 450 homes, with welfare vans serving hot food and drink to affected customers.

Its operations director, Andy Smith, said: “This has been a difficult couple of days for the communities affected and I’m grateful to them for their patience and support as our teams work extremely hard to restore power.”

The storm caused river levels to rise across the UK, with 28 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – in place in England.

The River Severn at the weir in Shrewsbury breached its banks on Friday, with nearby benches being submerged. Police urged people to avoid walking or driving through the area and said roads would remain closed for the foreseeable future. River levels in the area are expected to peak over the weekend or on Monday.

There were also six flood warnings in Scotland.

In Tameside, Greater, Manchester, people were dealing with the damage caused by a tornado that brought down trees and badly damaged roofs.

About 100 properties were damaged by what police called a “localised tornado” in Stalybridge and the village of Carrbrook.

Hayley McCaffer, 40, who lives in Carrbrook, said some of her neighbours’ houses were an “absolute disaster” with missing roofs and “squished” cars.

Damage would be covered by standard property insurance policies, the Association of British Insurers said.

ScotRail said many lines had reopened but it urged passengers to check for the latest information before travelling, a message echoed by LNER, Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway, which suspended or cancelled services due to damage or system faults.

There was likely to be significant disruption for travellers on the London Euston and Watford Junction lines, with services expected to be up and running by the end of the day.

In Wales, the aftermath of the severe weather will affect rail services until Monday.

Ferry services were cancelled and delayed, with the operator DFDS confirming sailings between Dover and France had been delayed because of strong winds in the Channel.

Air travel in and out of the UK was disrupted, with some cancellations, but most services had returned to normal.

The Met Office said its Irish counterpart, Met Éireann, could name another storm – Storm Hank – as a “deep area of low pressure” was forecast to push strong winds across Ireland on Saturday.

Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist, said it would feel cold at night on New Year’s Eve and urged people to “wrap up quite warm” as there would be “a chilly feel to things as the clock strikes midnight”.

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