Severe weather warnings issued for much of UK

March 9, 2008

Severe weather warnings have been issued for much of the UK, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland subject to weather warnings. Much of Scotland was also subject to a weather warning earlier today, although they have now been removed.

It has been forecasted that winds of up to 130 km/h will hit the southern and western areas of the United Kingdom in what has been predicted by some to be the worst storm this winter. The Met Office has said that there is a 60% risk of disruption for much of southern England and Wales, although the figure for Scotland is less then 20%.

David Rooke from the UK's Environment Agency (EA) said that "We're giving a very strong message to stay away from coastal areas," and that "There will be huge waves, a lot of spray and it will be a very dangerous place to be."

On its website the Met Office said that "the Met Office continues to expect an intense low pressure system to move east across the UK during Monday, bringing severe gales and potentially damaging gusts across some areas, more particularly the west and south of England and Wales. Southerly winds are expected to strengthen during the early hours of Monday to give severe gales for a time, coinciding with the morning rush hour in some areas."

Anglian region
The Anglian region, which covers the east of England, has been issued with one flood watch, meaning that a flood is not likely, but is possible. The warning was issued for the North Norfolk coast at 13:37 UTC today.

North East region
The North East region, which covers the north east of England, has been issued with four flood watches. The first warning, which covered the areas between Whitby and Filey was issued at 12:20 UTC yesterday, with the next warning, which covered the area surrounding the Lower River Ouse, being issued approximately nine hours later. The third and fourth warnings were both issued at approximately 9:40 UTC today, with the warnings covering the areas surrounding the Upper River Ouse and Lower River Ouse. Two all clears were also issued, the first covered the North Sea at Scarborough and was issued at 20:37 UTC yesterday and the second covered the River Ure at Aldwark Bridge, with it being issued at 09:02 UTC today.

North West region
The North West region, which covers the north west of England, has been issued with eleven flood watches. All but one of them were issued today, with the other one being issued on March 7. The warnings covered many areas including the coast at Barrow in Furness and the Wyre Estuary.

Southern region
The Southern region, which covers the south of England, has been issued with five watches. The warnings covering the Southampton Water Flood Watch Area and the Portsmouth Flood Watch Area were added the most recently, with the warnings for the Milford-on-Sea to Calshot Flood Watch Area, the Isle of Wight coast Flood Watch Area and the Hayling Island Flood Watch Area coming earlier at various times soon after 14:00 UTC today

South West region
The South West region, which covers the south west of England, has been issued with 28 warnings. This includes seven severe flood warnings, 13 flood warnings and eight flood watches. The severe flood warning cover large portions of the counties of Cornwall and Devon. Some areas in the region have, however, not been subject to the bad weather, with most of the Bristol area enjoying calm weather, although the nearby Portishead has been issued with a flood warning.