A 90-year-old man who died in London is believed to have been blown into the side of a moving bus by a gust of wind, while 130 flood warnings were made across the country. Tonight will be mostly overcast, but with only occasional rain and hill and coastal fog, and some dry spells will develop in many areas overnight.
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The Environment Agency is continuing to warn residents and businesses to check their flood risk as rain continues. The service advises farmers to assess trees on their farm, especially on public roads. “This is a very extreme and unprecedented event, early indications suggest we’ve passed the United Kingdom record on rainfall in Cumbria”.
It said: “Heavy and persistent rain will continue across northern England bringing a high flood risk from both rivers and surface water flooding across much of Cumbria, with severe flooding impacts likely”.
The bad weather has abated in Hawick, in the Scottish Borders, after around 100 properties were evacuated but emergency services remain on standby.
West Midlands Fire Service has sent firefighters and specialist equipment to the area, while control staff in its Birmingham office help to respond to the high number of calls.
The Met Office has issued a yellow “be aware” warning for rain for Conwy, Denbighshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey and wind for Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey, Powys, Wrexham, Ceredigion.
This is the dramatic moment a family of six were plucked from their flooded home in the Lake District as flood water rose around their house.
Flood warnings remain for parts of the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway, but a rare red weather alert that was in place for the region has been removed as heavy rain passed. At Altura, in the Highlands, a landslide dumped 200 tonnes of debris on the A82 between Spean Bridge and Invergarry. Elsewhere, the Ennis to Connolly road at Inch Bridge has been reopened to traffic – as have a number of other roads throughout the county. Other road closures in Scotland included the M90 between junctions 8 and 9, as well as the A85 and the A924.
The A66 was closed to high-sided and vulnerable vehicles between the junctions of the A67 near Bowes in County Durham and the A685 at Brough in Cumbria.
Virgin Trains announced on Twitter that services between Preston and Carlisle were suspended until Monday.
Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat leader and MP for the Cumbria constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale said: “It is incredible weather, we’ve not seen anything like this”.
Adrian Don, spokesman for Tynemouth RNLI lifeboat station, said: “Our crew was paged at 11.30 to what turned out to be a short but incredibly hard and dramatic rescue in a howling gale”.
Cleveland Police cordoned off the Redcar Beacon on Saturday morning after winds caused damage to the structure.
The Environment Agency is urging people to check for updates online as its teams maintain local flood defences.
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There are also two warnings in place for the River Tyne at Corbridge, and at Bywell and Prudhoe, and Ovingham and Low Prudhoe, as well as one for the River Wear at Lower Stanhope and one at Hurworth Place on the River Tees.
