UK: "New Storm It's Here"

The North West of England has been battered by strong winds which caused disruption on the roads and damage to homes.

Fierce winds have continued to lash Britain, toppling lorries and trees and forcing organisers of the Cheltenham Festival to call off the second day.

Northern Ireland, north Wales and north -west England are being pounded by gales and heavy rain in the second band of storms to hit the UK in three days.

Forecasters say gusts of up to 80mph have hit Northern Ireland as the Atlantic weather front moves eastwards.

LONDON (AFP) — Parts of southern England mopped up Tuesday after a major storm triggered travel chaos and flash floods, as conditions eased, albeit with more high winds forecast further north.

Some 2,400 homes remained without electricity along the south coast, which took the brunt of gale-force winds and driving rain which swept in from the Atlantic on Monday, also hitting northern France.

The Met Office said it "continues to forecast a swathe of severe westerly gales to affect parts of the UK on Tuesday night and through the first half of Wednesday."

Predicting gusts of up to 75 miles per hour, it said the strongest winds would be in Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening, moving into southern Scotland and northern England on Wednesday.

A 26-year-old man fell into the sea after his small boat was hit by a huge wave in the port of Relecq-Kerhuon near Brest in the far west of Brittany.

His body was found early on Monday, French maritime authorities said. Another man from the same boat was rescued by friends in a nearby vessel. In another incident, a woman motorist was crushed to death after a tree branch broke off in gale-force winds and landed on her car in southern Normandy in northwest of Paris, local media reported.

Britain faced more severe gales after the worst storm of the winter battered the country yesterday.

Hurricanes reaching 82mph cut the power to more than 10,000 homes and caused widespread transport chaos and flooding across the country. Conditions were set worsen last night as the storm’s second surge hit Britain.

The Met Office also gave warning that a third storm would strike large areas of England, Northern Ireland, North Wales and the Midlands late tonight. This could cause even greater disruption because it will occur over a wider land area. The Bristol Channel, Severn Estuary and Somerset coast are deemed most at risk of flooding but almost all of England is expected to suffer gales of up to 80mph today.

After The Rain - Part 1, originally uploaded by ljcybergal.

WORCESTER, England, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Following Monday's Atlantic storm system, which has bought coastal flooding and travel chaos to many areas in southern England, thoughts must now turn to the next storm system which will arrive across the UK overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday.

"And there's a storm developing in the Atlantic which will bring gale force gusts across Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England."

Those who haven't been affected may think that the next storm won't affect them either, but with it likely to affect a far wider area, we are advising everyone to keep track of the latest forecasts and heed any warnings that are issued for their area."

"A stream of gale force winds has been gusting up the English Channel," he said. "They've already had wind of 95mph on the Isle of Wight, which is hurricane force .

MORE than 1,000 pupils stayed at home today (Monday) after the severe storms battering the nation forced teachers to abandon their journeys to work.

Eastbrook Comprehensive, Dagenham Road, Dagenham, said it had no choice but to send pupils home as 40 teachers called in to say they had trouble getting in.

Monday, 2.10pm - A CAR skidded off the road on the A1 at Colsterworth this morning.
The accident was caused by a roadwork sign being blown into the middle of the road.

AGI) - London, 10 March - A storm with heavy rain and high winds - perhaps the worst of the last few months on its way from the Atlantic - is currently hitting a large part of the coastline of Great Britain. Winds of over 130 kilometres per hour have blown down trees and power lines, leaving without electricity large swaths of south-western England, where many roads have been blocked. Flooding is feared in Devon and along the Cornwall coast, while near New Port, in southern Wales, 170 people had to leave a campground over the night.

Forecasters warn that more severe weather is on the way as rain and gales pummel parts of Britain.

Culdrose, near Helston in south Cornwall, experienced gusts of 68mph

The Environment Agency has issued severe flood warnings across Devon and Cornwall, as well as six flood warnings and 31 flood watches.

A Downing Street spokesman said the hour-long meeting involved officials from the EA, the Met Office and relevant Government departments, as well as the emergency services and armed forces.

Winds of up to 80mph, rain and hailstones will batter the country, damaging buildings, uprooting trees and cutting power supplies.

Spokesmen for Gatwick and Heathrow airports warned passengers to expect cancellations and delays and urged them to check with their airline before travelling.

Officials from across Government are due to hold an emergency meeting in Whitehall to discuss the threat from the 80mph winds and torrential rain and hailstones being predicted.

Sky weather presenter Lucy Verasamy said: "Conditions will turn stormy through the latter stages of tonight and into the early hours as a deepening low pressure system crashes in from the Atlantic.

"This low pressure system storm originated over the US before sweeping into the Atlantic and moving at some pace towards British Isles on a strong jetstream out of Canada."

Forecasters have predicted the fiercest storm of the winter with heavy rain and high speed winds set to tear across the UK. There are fears of coastal flooding as spring tides coincide with the wild weather. People are being warned to stay inside on Sunday night and avoid unnecessary journeys, with winds of up to 80mph expected. A band of exceptionally low pressure was forecast to bring heavy rain and severe gales across the country, Meteogroup UK said. Read more from the Source: Skynews