Storm Hannah Batters Britain Leaves Thousands Without Power
 

UK Weather: Storm Hannah Batters Britain as 82mph Winds Leaves Thousands Without Power

Thousands have been left without power, roads have been closed by fallen trees and planes have struggled to land as Storm Hannah batters Britain

Daily Mirror UK, 27 APR 2019.


Storm Hannah is wreaking havoc over parts of the country bringing winds of up to 80mph and wiping out power at thousands of homes.


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Waves have been crashing against the shores (Image: PA)


Around 25,000 homes were without power in the UK and Ireland this morning as high winds and falling trees destroyed power lines.

Heavy rain is also bringing misery just days after the country basked in sunshine on the hottest day of the year.

Around 400 homes in parts of Wales are without power and the M48 Severn Bridge has been partially closed.

Motorists are also facing lengthy delays and diversions after falling trees have blocked roads, including between Llanelli and Carmarthen.

There are fears the storm poses a danger to life with flying debris, massive waves and winds strong enough to knock down trees as it sweeps across Britain.

Police have also warned for people to take care while driving.

Western Power confirmed around 1,000 homes in south and west of Wales had been cut off, before power was restored by 11am.

Red weather warnings were also in place for some counties until 3pm. A yellow rain warning is in place across Northern Ireland.

The last time a red alert was issued was for ex-hurricane Ophelia in October 2017.

Meanwhile, Irish forecaster Met Éireann said wind gusts reached 122km/h (76mph) at Mace Head in County Galway overnight.

A Turkish Airlines flight from Birmingham Airport was forced to land just 30 minutes after departure after a heavy gust caused its tail to strike the runway during takeoff.

The Boeing 737 returned to the airport for technical checks having taken off at 10.45am.

While a Rynair plane aborted landing at Liverpool John Lennon Airport when the plane rocked from side to side from the wind.


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A Ryanair flight from London Gatwick due to arrive in Shannon Airport yesterday evening was also diverted to Dublin.


This afternoon, Storm Hannah is gradually blowing itself out after hitting Wales, Northern Ireland and the west of England.

One person captured a video of cherry blossom swirling like confetti in a park in Brighton as the winds started to ease.

A spokesman for the Met Office said weather stations were still recording gusts of 60-70mph, but the storm is easing as it moves eastwards.

They added: “It will still be windy for the next few hours with heavy thundery showers around, but Storm Hannah is clearing into North Sea taking any of the less settled weather we’ve seen with it."

A band of rain continues to hammer Northern Ireland, with another 10mm expected on top of the 20mm already seen.

A yellow weather warning remains in place over the country, meaning the flooding of some homes and businesses is "likely".

Overnight, storm Hannah battered western parts of the UK.

The Llyn Peninsula saw the strongest winds when a gust of 82mph was clocked at Aberdaron.

Meanwhile a gust of 78mph was recorded at Pembrey Sands in Carmarthenshire and a 64mph gust was observed at the Needles off the Isle of Wight.

Western Power Distribution said more than 1,700 customers had been left without power on its network on Saturday morning, with the majority of those affected in Wales.

A spokesman said that by midday almost all had had their power restored, but the network could see pockets of disruption until the wind eased off completely.

A yellow wind warning covering Wales and central and southern England is in force until 3pm due to the threat of further power cuts and disruption to transport networks.

Transport for Wales said storm damage on the Conwy Valley line meant buses were replacing trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog.

There were cancellations after a tree fell on the line between Abercynon and Quakers Yard, but all lines have now reopened.


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Cork City Fire Brigade make safe a building damaged by storm Hannah in the city last night


Despite the disruption, the storm raised a few smiles.

Film maker Chris Lloyd captured a panda-shaped tent seemingly scuttling down the streets of Cardiff all alone.

He joked: "A rare sighting this morning in Roath, Cardiff of Hannah of StormHannah fame who's actually just an angry panda."

Meanwhile, Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: "It's a gradually improving picture as we go through the afternoon.

"Storm Hannah is gradually moving south east so it has pretty much already cleared the south west of England so it's much drier and brighter now with just a few showers around.

He added: "By the evening the winds will gradually ease but it will be a pretty wet and windy day."

Mr Partridge said those running the London Marathon could expect a chilly start.

"The London Marathon will be fairly breezy, pretty cloudy and with a chance of a few showers while the runners are lining up and getting ready," he said.

The morning will be gloomy and grey, but slower runners could feel the sun on their backs.

"We could see sunshine breaking through in the afternoon and we could see highs of 14C (57.2F) - 16C (60.8) tomorrow - much warmer than today, but nowhere near the record breaking heat we saw last year," he said.

In 2018, the mercury hit 24.1C (75.3F) on the day of the marathon.

Named by the Irish weather service Met Eireann, Storm Hannah hit Ireland's south-west on Friday.

The highest recorded winds were at Mace Head in Galway, where 76mph was observed, while gusts reached 74mph at Shannon Airport.

Overnight, the service warned people to exercise "extreme caution," particularly close to the Munster coastline.