Many parts of south east London and north Kent were battered by strong winds last night as Storm Barney continued to rage.
Advertisement
The Met Office warned the storm, which cross the United Kingdom from the West, would reach high speeds of 70 mpg and 80 miles per hour over exposed hills.
Eric Leister, Meteorologist at AccuWeather, said: “Barney will be a fast-moving storm, bringing locally strong winds to southern Ireland and the southern United Kingdom beginning midday Tuesday and continuing into Tuesday night”.
“There is now increased confidence that the worst of the winds will reach West Wales late in the afternoon, sweeping rapidly eastwards across the Midlands during the evening”.
The wind is expected to pick up further over Wales and southern England later on Tuesday, which could affect flights from Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
Last week, storm Abigail brought lightning, heavy rain and severe gales of up to 84mph to the United Kingdom and thousands of homes were left without power.
Elsewhere, many flood warnings for rivers have been removed, although 22 are still in place, along with dozens of flood alerts.
A few localised spray and wave overtopping is possible but overall the coastal flood risk is very low.
Rain is expected to pour until 3pm before the winds are whipped up by a series of violent low pressure systems lined up in the Atlantic.
The Met Office says gusts strong enough to bring down branches and trees will hit commuters heading home from work.
The winds should ease later this evening.
Visit winterready.ie for more information on preparing for storms and other inclement weather.
Barney will also cause heavy rain in Northern Ireland into Wales and northwest England.
Advertisement
Earlier today flooding in Pontypridd caused disruption to Arriva Trains Wales services operating between Radyr and Treherbert, while a tree felled by high winds caused the line between Bridgen and Maestag to close temporarily.
